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THOMSON AND POLLOK: 



OOMTAININa 1HS 



SEASONS, 



BY JAMES THOMSON, 



AND THB 

COURSE OF TIME, 

BY ROBERT POLLOK, A.M. 



▲ NEW EDITION 



BOSTON: 

CROSBY AND NICHOLS. 

1862. 



3^ 






JUH 5 '90^ 



THE 




SEASONS. 



A POEM. 



BY 



JAMES THOMSON, 



BOSTON: 
CROSBY AND NICHOLS. 

1862. 



^-^■A;;:; 




SPKllNG. 






The sabjact jnopoied. Inscribed to the Countesa of Uersront. The 
SeaMon ia deFcritKKl us it ajFocta the various pilots of Natuw:, 
ascending ^roiii ttie U»wcr lo mc n'gder; withtligressioiit' ari<iiu' 
from th« •iitijeci. Its influence on inanimate Miit* r, t«<i Veeefn- 
Uet, oil brute AniniaU, und last on Man ; coi«;JuJ»ng witii a lii^- 
•uasive from the wild and irregular passion o<" Ltuo, ojjjxjued i« 
ttic* of a pufo and happy kind. 



Come, gentle Spring, ethereal Mildness, come. 
And from the bosom of yon dropping cloud, 
While music wakes around, veil'd in a ihoxer 
Of shadowing roses, on our plains descend. 

O Hertford, fitted or to shine in courts 6 

With unaifected grace, or walk the plain 
With innocence and meditation join'd 
tn soft assemblage, listen to my song. 
Which thy own Season paints ; when Nature aJI 
[s blooming and benevolent, like thee. 10 

And see where surly Winter passes off. 
Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blast* : 
His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill. 
The shatter'd forest, and the ravaged vale ; 
While softer gales succeed, at whose kind touch. 15 
Dissolving snows in livid torrents lost, 
The mountains lift their green heads to the sky 

As yet the trembling year is unconfirm'd. 
And Winter oft at eve resumes the breeze. 
Chills the pale morn, and bids his driving sieets 20 
Deform the day delightiess : so that scarce 
The bittern knov/e his time, witn bill ingulf'd. 
To shake the soundinj; rn."''h ; or from the shore 
The plovers when to scaUer o'er the heath. 
And sing their wild notes to the listening u'ujjte. 06 



4 Sl'RiNG. 

\t Idsi iVoin Arios rolls liu bounteous sun, 
And llie bright Ijiill receives him. Then no uioi» 
Tiie' expaiisiv*: atiiiusphcro is cramp d with cold ;. 
But, full of [ile ami vivifying soul, 
Lifts tlie light clouils sublime, and spreads them thin, 
Flee«;y, and white o'er all surrounding heaven. 31 

Forth riy the tepid airs ; and unconfined, 
I iibinding earth, tJie moving softness strays. 
Joyous, the" iiupalieni husbandman perceives 
Relenting ^'lature, and his lusty steers 35 

Drives from tht-ir stalls, to where the well used plough 
Lies in the furrow, loosend from the frost. 
Tiiere unrefusing, to the harness'd yoke, 
TJiey lend their shoulder, and begin their toil, 
Cheerd by the simple song and soaring lark. 40 

Meanwhile incumbent o'er the shining share 
The master leans, removes the' obstructing clay, 
Winds the whole work, and sidelong lays the glebe. 

While thro' the neighbouring fields the sower stalks, 
With noasured step; a.id liberal throws the grain 4rt 
Into the faithful bosom of the ground : 
The harrow follows harsh, and shuts the scene 

Be gracious, Heaven ! for now laborious man 
Has done his part. Ye fostering breezes, blow ; 
Ye softening dews, ye tender showers, descend ! 50 
And temper all, thou world-reviving sun, 
Into the perfect year ! Nor ye who live 
In luxury and ease, in pomp and pride, 
Think these lost themes, unworthy of your ear. 
Sur;h theries as these the rural Maro sung 66 

To wide-imperial Rome, in the full height 
Of elegance and taste, by Greece refined. 
]n ancient times, the sacred plough employ'd 
The kings, and awful fathers of mankind • 
And some, with whom compared your insect tribes 60 
Are but the beings of a summer's i\Ay, 
Have held the scale of empire, ruled tl e storm 
l)i mighty war ; then, with imwearied hand 



SPRING 

Oisd.iini:i;r lillle delicacies, seized 

The |)lou(rh, and irrcally independent lived. fi5 

Ye generous iJritons, vennrale the |»lough ! 
And o'er your hills anl loi.g withdrawing viiiet 
Lei Autumn spread his treasures to the sun. 
Luxuriant and upHosinded : as the sea, 
Far through his azure turbulent domain, 70 

Your empire owns, and from a thousar-d shores 
Wafts all the pomp of life into your ports ; 
So witi superior boon may your ricii soil, 
Exuberant, Nature's better blessings pour 
O er every laud, the naked nations chjtlie, 75 

And be the' exhaustless granary of a world! 

iNor only through the lenient air this change, 
Delicious, breathes; the penetrative sun, 
His force dee}) darting to the dark retreat 
Of vegetation, sets tlie steaming Power 80 

At large, to wander o'er the verdant earth, 
In varif)us huos ; but chiefly thee, gay green! 
Tliou smiling Nature's universal robe I 
United light and shade I where the sight dwelli 
Willi glowing strength and ever new dehght. 86 

From the moist meadow to the wither'd hill, 
Led by the breeze, the vivid verdure runs, 
And swells and deepens to the cherish'd eye. 
The hawthorn whitetis ; and the juicy groves 
Pal forth their buds, unfolding by degrees, ilO 

Till the whole leafy forest stands display'd, 
In iVill luxuriance, to the sighing gales : 
Where the deer rustle through the twining; brake, 
And the birds sing coneeal'd. At once array 'd 
In all the cr>lours of the flushing year, 36 

Hy Nature's swift and secret working hand, 
The garden flows, and tills the liberal air 
Willi lavish fragrance ; while the promised frVLi 
LiL'b yet a little embryo, unperceived, 
Witliin its crimson folds. Now from the town, 100 
Buried in smoke and sleep and uoib.»ir.e damps. 



6 SPRING. 

Oft let me wander o'er tlie dewy fields, 

Where fiosliness b reathes, and dash the trembling drops 

From the bent bush, as through the verdant maze 

Of sweetbriar hedges I pursue my walk ; 105 

Or taste the smell of dairy ; or ascend 

Some eminence, Augusta, in thy plains, 

And see the country, far diffused around. 

One boundless blush, one white-empurpled shower 

Of mingled blossoms ; where the raptured eye 110 

Hurries from joy to joy, and, hid beneath 

The fair profusion, yellow Autumn spies. 

If, brush d from Russian wilds, a cutting gale 
Rise not, and scatter from his humid wings 
The clammy mildew ; or, dry blowing, breathe J 15 
Untimely frost ; before whose baleful blast 
The full blown Spring through all her foliage shrinks 
Joyless and dead, a wide dejected waste. 
For oft, engender'd by the hazy north, 
Mj riads on myriads, insect armies waft 120 

Keen in the poison'd breeze ; and wasteful eat, 
Through buds and bark, into the blackend core, 
Their eager way. A feeble race ! yet oft 
The sacred sons of vengeance ; on whose course 
Corrosive Famine waits, and kills the year. 125 

To check this plague, the skilful farmer chaff 
And blazing straw before his orchard burns ; 
Till, all involved in smoke, the latent foe 
From every ci'anny suffocated falls : 
(Jr scatters o'er the blooms the pungent dust 130 

Of pepper, fatal to the frosty tribe : 
Or, when the' envenom'd leaf begins to curl. 
With sprinkled water drowns them in their nest : 
Nor, while they pick them up with busy bill, 
The little trooping birds unwisely scares. 135 

Be patient, swains ; these cruel-seeming winds 
Blow not in vain. Far hence they keep repress'd 
I'hose deepening clouds fin clouds, surcharged with rain, 
Thril o cr the vast Atlant.c hither borne. 



SPRING. 7 

111 endless train, would quench the summer blaze, 14<^ 
\n(l, cheerless, drown the crude unripend year. 

The north-east spends his rage ; he now shut up 
Within his iron cave, the' effusive south 
Warms the wide air, and j'er the void of heaven 
Breathes the big clouds with vernal showers distent. 
As first a dusky wreath they seem to rise, 1 Ifl 

Scarce staining ether ; but, by swift degrees, 
In heaps on heaps, the doubling vapour saila 
Along the loaded sky, and mingling deep 
Sits on the' horizon round a settled gloom : 150 

Not such as wintry storms on mortals shed, 
Oppressing life ; but lovely, gentle, kind. 
And full of every hope and every joy. 
The wish of Nature. Gradual sinks the breeze 
Into a perfect calm ; that not a breath 155 

Is heard to quiver through the closing woods, 
Or rustling turn the many-twinklijig leaves 
Of aspen tall. The' uncurling floods, diifused 
In glassy breadth, seem through delusive lapse 
Forgetful of their course. "Tis silence all, ItiO 

And pleasing expectation. Herds and flocks 
Drop the dry sprig, and mute imploring eye 
The falling vcroure. Hush'd in short suspense, 
The plumy people streak their wings with oil, 
To thro\-r the lucid moisture trickling off*: 165 

And wait the' appxoaching sign to strike, at once, 
Into the general choir. Even mountains, vales, 
And forests seem impatient to demand 
The promised sweetness. Man superior walks 
Amid the glad creation, musing praise, 17C 

And looking lively gratitude. At last, 
The clouds consign their treasures to the fleld« ; 
And, softly shaking on the dimpled pool 
Prelusive drops, let all their moisture flow. 
In large effusion, o'er the frcslien'd world. 175 

The stealing shower is scarce to patter heard, 
^y such as wander through the forest walks. 



R SPUING. 

Bonealli the' umbrageous multitude of leavoj*. 

But who can hold the shade while Heaven duecend^ 

In universal bounty, shedding herbs ItA 

And fruits and flowers on Nature's ample lap : 

Swift Fancy fired anticipates their growth ; 

And, while the milky nutriment distils, 

Beholds the kindling country colour round. 

Thus all day long the full distended clouds IBS 

Indulge their genial stores, and well shower'd earth 
Is deep enrich'd with vegetable life ; 
Till, in the western sky, the downward sun 
Looks out, effulgent, from amid the flush 
Of broken clouds, gay-shifting to his beam. 190 

The rapid radiance instantaneous strikes 
The' illumined mountain, through the forest streams, 
Shakes on the floods, and in a yellow mist, 
Far smoking o'er the' interminable plain. 
In twinkling myriads lights the dewy gems. lOf 

Moist, bright, and green, the landscape laughs around 
Full swell the woods ; their very music wakes, 
Mix'd in wild concert wita the warbling brooks 
Increased, the distant bieatings of the hills. 
And hollow lows responsive from the vales, 200 

Whence blending, all the sweeten'd zephyr springs. 
Meantime, refracted from yon eastern cloud, 
Bestriding earth, the grand ethereal bow 
Shoots up immense ; and every hue unfolds, 
In fair proportion running from the red 205 

To where the violet fades into the sky. 
Here, awful Newton, the dissolving clouds 
Form, fronting on the sun, thy showery prism ; 
And to the sage-instructed eye unfold 
The various twine of light, by thee disclosed 210 

From the white mingling maze. Not so the boy : 
He wondering views the bright enchantment bend. 
Delightful, o'er the radiant fields, and runs 
To catch the falling glory ; but amazed 
Beholds the' amusive arch before hixn fly, 215 



SPRiNir » 

Then vanish quite away. Still niirht succeeds, 

A soften'd sliade, and saturated earth 

Awaits the morning beam, to give to liglit. 

Raised through ten thousand dilFeront plastic tube*. 

The balmy treasures of the tornier day. 'J2C 

Then spring the living herbs, prolusely wild, 
O'er all the deep-green earth, b.>yond the power 
or botanists to number up their tribes : 
Whether he steals itlong the lonely dale, 
In silent search ; or throuirh the forest, rank 22^' 

With what the dull incuri<,us weeds account, 
Bursts his blind way ; or climbs the mountain rock 
Fired by the nodding verdure of its brow. 
With such a liberal hand has Nature flung 
Their seeds abroad, bljwn them about in winds. 230 
Innumerous niixd them with th-i nursing mould, 
The moistening current, and prolilic rain 

But who their virtues can declare ? who pierce, 
With vision pure, into these secret stores 
Of health and life and joy ? the food of Man, '.J^lo 

While yet he lived in innocence, and told 
A length of golden years ; unflesh'd in blood, 
A stranger to the savage arts of life. 
Death, rapine, carnage, surfeit, and disease , 
The lord, and not the tyrant, of the world. 240 

The first fresh dawn then waked the gladden'd race 
Of uncorrupted Man, nor hiush'd to see 
The sluggard sleep beneath its sacred beam ; 
For their light slumbers gently fumed away ; 
And up they rose as vigorous as the sun, S'tS 

Or to the culture of the willing glebe 
Or to the cheerful tendance of the flock : 
Meantime the song went round ; and dance and sport, 
Wisdom and friendly talk, successive, stole 
Their hours away : while in vhe rosy vale 25C 

VjOXe breathed his infant sighs, from anguish free, 
And full replete with bliss ; save the sweet pain, 
That, inly thrilling, but exalts it more 



/O SPRING. 

Nor yet injnrioas act, nor surly deed, 
Was known among those happy sons of IfCaven , 2fifi 
For reason and benevolence were law. 
Harmonious Nature too look'd smiling on. 
Clear shone the skies, cool'd with eternal gales, 
And balmy spirit all. The youthful sun 
Shot his best rays, and still the gracious clouds 260 
Dropp'd fatneps down ; as o'er the swelling mead. 
The herds and flocks, commixing, play'd secure. 
This when, emergent from the gloomy wood. 
The glaring lion saw, his horrid heart 
Was meeken'd, and he join'd his sullen joy 2<>5 

For music held the whole in perfect peace : 
Soft sigh'd the flute ; the tender voice was heard, 
Warbling tie varied heart ; the woodlands round 
Applied their choir ; and winds and waters flow'd 
In consonance. Such were those prime of days. 270 
But now those white unblemish'd manners, whence 
The fabl'ng poets took their golden age. 
Are found no more amid these iron times. 
These dregs of life ! now the distemper'd mind 
Has lost that concord of harmonious powers, !i75 

Which forms the soul of happiness ; and ail 
Is ofl* the poise within : the passions all 
Have burst their bounds ; and reason, half extinct 
Or impotent, or else approving, sees 
The foul disorder. Senseless, and deform'd, 280 

Convulsive anger storms at largo ; or, paie 
And silent, settles into fell revenge. 
Base envy withers at another's joy, 
Ard hates that excellence it cannot reach 
Desponding fear, of feeble fancies full, 286 

Weak and unmanly, loosens evr ry power 
E'en love itself is bitterness of soul, 
A pensive anguish pining at the heart ; 
Or, sunk to sordid interest, feels no more 
That noble wish that never cloy'd desire, 9M 

Which, selfish joy disdaining, seeks alone 



SPRING. U 

To bless the dearer object of its flame. 
Hope sickens with extravagance ; and grief, 
Of life impatient, into madness swells ; 
Or in dead silence wastes the weeping hours. 21)5 

These, and a thousand mix'd emotions more, 
From ever changing views of good and ill 
Form'd infinitely various, vex the mind 
With endless storm ; whence, deeply raniiling grows 
The partial thought, a listless unconcern, 30<j 

Cold, and averting from our neighbour's good ; 
Then dark disgust, and hatred, winding wiles, 
Coward deceit, and ruffian violence • 
At last, extinct each social feeling, fell 
Aad joyless inhumanity pervades :{<>.'* 

And petrifies the heart. Nature disturb d 
[s deem'd, vindictive, to have changed \hm cotustv 

Hence, in old dusky time, a deluge came : 
When the deep-clefl disparting orb, t!i;it arcn d 
The central waters round, impetuous ruslid, 'Mii 

With universal burst, into the gulf, 
Aad o'er the high-piled hills of fractured earth 
Wide dash'd the waves, in undulation vast ; 
Till, from the centre to the streaming clouds, 
A shoreless ocean tumbled round the globe 'M'\ 

The Seasons since have, with severer sway, 
Oppress'd a broken world: the Winter keen 
Shook forth his waste of snows : and Suniiiier shot 
His pestilential heats. Great Spring, before. 
Groen'd all the year ; and fruits and blossoms blugh'd, 
In social sweetness, on the selfsame bough. ■.^2f 

Pure was the temperate air ; an evon calm 
Perpetual reign'd, save what the zephyrs biand 
Breathed o'er the blue expanse : for then nor storms 
Were taught to blow nor hurricanes to rage ; 325 

Sound slept the waters ; no sulphureous glooms 
Bwell'd in the sky, and sent the lightning forth ; 
While sickly damps, and cold autumnal f.igK. 
tlung not, relaxing, on thi* spru>gs of !ifp 



12 SPniiNG. 

But now, of turbid elements the s}>ort, 334 

From clear to cloudy toss'd, from liot to cold, 

And ary to moist, with inward-eatiiig chaajre, 

Our drooping days are dwindled down to nou<;ht, 

Their period fmish'd ere 'tis well begun. 

And yei the wholesome herb neglected dies ; XiR 
Though with the pure exhilarating soul 
Of nutrimtiit and health and vital powers, 
Beyond the search of art, 'tis copious bless'd. 
For, wLth hot ravine fired, eiuanguined Man 
Is now become the lion of the plain, 'Mi 

And worse. Tlie wolf, who from the nightly fold 
Fierce drags tlie bleating prey, ne'er dniwk her iiulK, 
Nor wore her wanning fleece : nf^r has tho steer. 
At whose strong chest the deadly tiger hangs, 
E'er plough'd for him. Tliey too are temper'd lagh, 
With hunger stung and wild necessity, M4<i 

N' r lodges pity in their shaggy breast 
But Man, whom Nature form d of milder clay, 
With every kind emotion in his heart, 
And taught alone to weep ; while from her lap :L'>U 
She pour" ten thousand delicacies, herbs, 
And fruits, as numerous as the drops of rain 
Or beams that gave tnem birth : shall he, fair \\'rm 
Who wears sweet smiles, and looks erect on heaveo, 
E'er stoop to mingle with the prowling herd, .i'.o 

And dip nis tongue in gore .'' the beast of prey, 
Blood-stain'd, deserves to bleed ; but you, ye flocks. 
What have you done ; ye peaceful pfi()|>le., what, 
To merit death ? you, who have given us milk 
In luscious streams, and lent us your own coat .^JW 
Against the Winter's cold ? and the plain ox. 
That harmless, honest, guileless animal, 
In what has he offended .'' he, whose toil. 
Patient, and ever ready, clothes the land 
WitJi all the pomp of hardest ; shall he bleed, 363 

And strugqrjing groan beneath the cruel h-iiids 
Even of the clovvn lie feeds? and that, perhaus. 



SPRING. IS 

To swell IIa; riot of the' autumnal feast, 

Won hy his labour ? thus the feelinj^ heart 

Would tenderly suggest : but 'tis enough, ',571 

In this late age, adventurous, to liave touch'd 

Light on the numbers of the Saniian sagti. 

[ligh Heaven forbids the bold presumptuous strain, 

Whose wisest will has fix'd us in a state 

That must not yet to pure perfection rise. 17 li 

Now when the first foul torrent of the brooks, 
Sweird with the vernal rains, i-s ebb'd away. 
And, whitenin;r, down their mossy-tinctured streaih 
Deoccads the billowy foam : now is the time, 
VVu.ie yet the dark-brown water aids the eruile, 3^' 
To tempt the trout. The well dirscmbled tlv . 
Thfc rod fine-tapeiing with elastic spring. 
Snatch 'd from the hoary steed the floating line, 
And all thy slender watery stores prepare. 
But let not on thy hook the tortured worm 386 

Convulsive twist in agonizing folds ; 
Which, by rapacious hunger swallow'd deep, 
Gives, as you tear it from the bleeding breast 
Of the weak, helpless, uncomplaining wretch. 
Harsh pain and horror to the tender hand. 3% 

When with his lively ray the potftnt sun 
Has pierced the streams, and roused the finny race. 
Then, issuing cheerful, to thy sport repair ; 
Chief should the western breezes cur^'ag play. 
And light o'er ether bear the shadowy clouds. 31^t 

High to their fount, this day, amid the hills, 
And vroodlands warbling round, trace up the brooks , 
The next, pursue their rocky-channel d maze 
Down to the river, in whose ample wave 
Their little naiads love to sport at large. 4GG 

Just in the dubious point, where with the pool 
is mix'd the trembling stream, or where it boiU 
Around the sione, or from the hallow'd bank 
Reverted plays in undulating flow, 
L note throw, nice judging, th** delusive fly ; 40ft 



t4 SPRING. 

And, as you lead it round in artful curve, 
With eye attentive mark tlie springing game. 
Straight as above the surface of the flood 
They wanton rise, or urged by hunger leap, 
Then fix, witn gentle twitch, the barbed hook : 410 
Some lightly tossing to the grassy bank, 
And to the shelving shore slow dragging soinOf 
With various hand proporti(ju'd to their force. 
If yet too young, and easily deceived, 
A worthless prey scarce bencJs your pliant rod, 415 
Him, piteous of his youth and the short space 
He has enjoy'd the vital lij^ht of heaven. 
Soft disengage, and back into the stream 
The spe'^kled captive throw. But shouid you lure 
From his dark haunt, benealli the tangled roots 420 
Of pendent trees, the monarch of the brook, 
Behoves you then to ply your finest ail. 
Long time he, following cautious, scans the fly ; 
And oft attempts to seize it, but as oft 
The dimpled water speaks his jealous fear. 425 

At last, while haply o'er the shad.^d sun 
Passes a cloud, he desperate takes the death, 
With sullen plunge. At onre he darts along 
Deep-struck, and runs out all the lengthen'd line : 
Then seeks the furthest ooze, the sheltering weed, 430 
The cavern'd bank, his old secure abode ; 
And flies aloft, and flounces round the pool. 
Indignant of the guile. With yielding hand, 
That feels him still, yet to his furious course 
Gives way, you, now retiring, following now 435 

Acioss the stream, exhaust his idle rage : 
Till, floating broad upon his bieathless side. 
And to his fate abandon 'd, to the shore 
You gaily drag your unresisting prize. 439 

Thus pass the temperate hours ; but when the sur. 
Shakes from his noonday throne the scattering clouds, 
Viven shooting listless languor through the deeps ; 
Then seek the bank where flowering eldirs crowd. 



SPRING k 

tVhere ecatter'd wild the lily of the vale 
lis balmy essence breathes, where cowslips hanp 44S 
Tlie dewy head, where purple violets lurk, 
With all the lowly cliildren of the shade : 
Or lie reclined beneath yon spreading asli, 
Hung o'er the steep ; whence, borne on liquid wing, 
The sounding culver shoots ; or where the Uawk, 4aU 
High in the be?tling cliff, his eyry builds. 
There let the classic page thy fancy lead 
Through rural scenes ; such as the Mantuan swam 
Paints in the matchless harmony of song, 
Or catch thyself the landscape, gliding s-vift 455 

Athwart imagination's vivid eye : 
Or by the vocal woods and waters luU'd, 
And lost in lonely musing, in the dream, 
Confused, of careless solitude, where mix 
Ten thousand wandering images of things, 46ft 

Sooth every gusi of passion into peace ; 
All but the swellings of the softend heart, 
That weaken, not disturb, the tranquil mind. 

Behold yon breathmg- prospect bids the Muse 
Throw all her beauty forth. But who can paint 465 
Like Nature ? Can imagination boast. 
Amid its gay creation, hues like hers ? 
Or can it mix them with that matchless skill, 
And lose them in each other, as appears 
In every bud that blows ? If fancy then 47l> 

Unequal fails beneath the pleasing task, 
Ah, what shall language do .'' Ah, where find wordi 
Tinged with so many colours ; and whose power, 
To life approaching, may perfume my lays 
With that fine oil, those aromatic gales, 475 

That inexhaustive flow continual round ? 

Yet, though successless, will the toil delight. 
Come then, ye virgins and ye youths, whose hcans 
Have felt the raptures of refining love ; 
And thou, Amanda, come, pride of my song ! 481 

Form'd by the Graces, loveliness itself! 



10 SIMllNG. 

I'luno with tho<e downcast eyes, sedate ai.d 9we«t» 
Tlioso hmUs deiimre. t.li;it deeply piorce iIim h<»u1, 
Where, with (iio li>i;iit »)!' tl»oii<r|iit\il reus.tn inixd, 
Shines livi>ly fancy and the t'eelinjr lieart • 4dfi 

Oil, come ! and wliiht the rosy-tooted May 
Slra'is bliiohin^- on, together hit us tread 
't'ha niorninnr dews, and jrather in their prime 
Froali-hloomino- llowers, to grnco thy bniideu nair, 
And thy loved bosom that improves their sweet? 49(< 

See, where the windinij vale its lavish stores, 
Irriynous, spreads. See, how the lily drinks 
The latent rill, scarce «n>zinij lhn>u«rh the jrrass, 
Ot'ori)Wth luxuriant ; or tlio hmnid bank, 
In tair profusion, decks. Lonj^ let us walk, 4115 

Where the breeze blows tVoni yon extended titdd 
Of blossomd beans Hra'oia cannot bt)asl 
A fuller jjalo of j»)y, ilian, liberal, theneo 
Hreuthes thriiujjh the sense, and takes the lavisli'd 8oij|. 
Nor is the mead unwitrthy of thy fool, MW 

Full of tresh verduio and unnumbor'd tlowers, 
The nejflio-ence of jNature. wid^ ajid wild ; 
Where, undisjruised by mimic Art. nIic spreads 
Unbounded beauty to the roving e^e. 
Hero their delicious task the fervent bees, fKtS 

In swarmiiiij millions, tend : around, athwart, 
Through the soft air, the busy nations Ay, 
Clin<j to the bud, and, with inserted tube, 
Suck its pore essence, its ethereal soul ; 
And oft. with bolder wing, they soaring dare 610 

The purple heath, or where the wild thyme ^row8f 
^nd yellow load them with the luscious spoil. 

At length the finishd garden to the view 
lis vislAs opens, and its alleys green. 
Snatchd through the verdatit maze, the hurried eye 
Distracted wanders ; now the bowery walk &|fl 

Of covert close, where scarce a speck olday 
Vails on the lengthend gloom, protricted sweeps. 
Mow meets the bending sky ; the riv«r now 



SPRING. 17 

Dimpling along, t\ic breezy ruffled lake, 590 

The forest darkening round, the glittering spire. 
The' otiiereal mountain, and the distant main. 
But why so far excursive ; when at hand, 
Along these blushing borders, bright with dew, 
And in yon mingled wilderness of flowers, 589 

Fair-nanded Spring unbosoms every grace ; 
I'hrows out the snowdrop and the crocus firpt 
The daisy, primrose, violet darkly blue, 
And polyanthus of unnumber'd dyes ; 
The yellow wallflower, stain'd with iron brown ; 63t 
And lavish stock that scents the garden round : 
From the soft wing of vernal breezes shed, 
Anemones ; auriculas, enrich'd 
With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves ; 
And full raixunculas of glowing red. 536 

Then comes the tulip race, where Beauty playi 
Her idle freaks ; from family diffused 
To family, as flies the father dust, 
The varied colours run ; and, while they break 
On the charm'd eye, the' exulting florist marks, 540 
With secret pride, the wonders of his hand. 
No gradual bloom is wanting ; from the bud. 
Firstborn of Spring, to Summer's musky tribes. 
Nor hyacinths, of purest virgin white, 
I^ow-bent, and 'flushing inward ; nor jonquilles, 546 
Of potent fragrance ; nor narcissus fair, 
As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still ; 
Nor broad carnations, nor gay spotted pinks ; 
Nor, shower 'd frcm every bush, the damask rose, 
[nfinite numbers, delicacies, smells, 650 

With hues on hues expression cannot paint. 
The breath of Nature, and her endless bloom. 

Hail, Source of Being ! Universal Soul 
Of heaven and earth ! Essential Presence, hail ! 
To Thee I bend the knee ; to Thee my thoughts, 55ff 
Continual, climb ; who, with a master hand, 
Hast the great whole mto perfection touch'd. 
2* 



18 SPRING 

By Thee vhe various vegetative tribes, 

Wrapp'd in a filmy net and clad with leh.v».!S, 

Draw the live ether and imbibe the dow ; 660 

By Thee disposed into congenial soils, 

Stands each attractive plant, and sucks and swells 

The juicy tide ; a twinmg mass of tubes. 

At Thy command the vernal sun aw ikes 

The torpid sap, detruded to the root 5C5 

By wintry winds ; that now, in fluent dance, 

And lively fermentation mounting, spreads 

All this innumerous-colour'd scene of things. 

As rising from the vegetable world 
My theme ascends, with equal wing ascend, &7U 

My panting Muse ; and hark, how loud the woous 
Invite you forth in all your gayest trim. 
Lend me your song^ ye nightingales i oh, pour 
The mazy-running soul of melody 
Into my varied verse ! while 1 deduce, 575 

From the first note the hollow cuckoo sings, 
The symphony of Spring, and touch a theme 
Unknown to fame, — the Passion of the Groves. 

When first the soul of love is sent abroad, 
Warm through the vital air, and on the heart 580 

Harmonious seizes, the gay troops begin, 
In gallant thought, to plume the painted wing , 
And try again the long forgotten straiii, 
At first famt warbled. But no so«ner grows 
The soft infusion prevalent and wide, 586 

Than, all alive, at once their joy o'e:flows 
In music unconfined. Up springs the lark. 
Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn ; 
Ere yet the shadow.s fly, he mounted sings 
Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts 590 
Calb up the tuneful nations. Every copse 
Deep tangled, tree irregular, and bush 
Bending with dewy moisture, o'er the heads 
Of the coy quiristers that lodgt within. 
(^re prod\feal of harmony. The thrush 5% 



SPRING. 19 

And woodlark, o'er the kind contending throng 

Superior heard, run through the sweetest length 

Of notes ; when listening Philomela deigns 

To let them joy, and purposes, in thought 

Elate, to make her niglil excel their day. SOO 

The blackbird whistles from the thorny brake ; 

The mellow bullfinch answers from the grove • 

Nor are the linnets, o'er the flowering furze 

Pout'd out profusely, siU-iit. Join'd to these 

Inixumerous songsters, in the freshening shade 606 

Of new-sprung leaves, their modulations mix 

Melliriuous. The jay, the rook, the daw, 

And each harsh pipe, discordant heard alone, 

Aid tlie full concert : whib the stockdove breathes 

A melancholy murmur through the whole. 610 

'Tis love create^ their melody, and all 
This waste of music is the voice of love ; 
That even to birds and beasts the tender arts 
Of pleasing teaches. Hence the glossy kind 
Try every winning way inventive love 615 

Can dictate, and in courtship to their mates 
**our forth their little souls First, wide around. 
With distant awe, in airy rings they rove, 
Endeavouring by a thousand tricks to catch 
The cunning, conscious, half averted glance 620 

Of the regardless char.ner. Should she seem 
Softening the least approvance to bestow, 
Their colours burnish, and, by hope inspired. 
They brisk advance ; then, on a sudden struck, 
Retire disorder'd ; then again approach ; 6!^ 

In fond rotation spread tlie spotted wing, 
And shiver every feather with desire. 

Connubia? leagues agreed, to the deep woods 
They haste away, all as their fancy leads, 
Pleasure, oi food, or secret safety prompts ; 631 

That Natuj-e's great command may be obey'd: 
Nor all the sweet sensations they perceive 
uduiffcd in vain. Some to the holly hedge 



2) SPUING 

Nestlnii<; rcp.iir, iitid to tiie llucket ^ome , 

Soiiie t(i tlie ruJe protection of t.lie thorn OS 

('Oiniiiit thbir feeble oflrfpring. Tiie cleft tree 

Offers its liind concealmeni, to a few, 

Thfir food its insects, and its moss their nests. 

Others apart, far in tlie grassy dale, 

Oi roughening waste, their humble texture weave. 640 

But most in woodland solitudes delight, 

In unfrequented glooms, or shaggy banka, 

Steep, and divided by a babbling brook, 

Whose murmurs sootli them all the livelong day, 

When by kind duty fix'd. Among the ro(»ts G4P 

Of hazel, pendent o'er the plaintive stream. 

They fi ame the first foundation of their domes , 

Dry sprigs of trees, in artful fabric laid, 

And bound with clay together. Now 'tis nought 

But restless hurry through the busy air, 65P 

Beat by unnumber'd wings. The swallow sweep* 

The slimy pool, to build his hanging house 

Intent. And often, from the careless back 

Of herds and flocks, a thousand tugging bills 

Pluck hair and wool ; and oft, when unobserved, C5b j 

Steal from the barn a straw : till, soft and warm, 

Clean and complete, their habitation grows. 

As thus the patient dam assiduous sits, 
Not to be tempted from her tender task. 
Or by sharp hunger or by smooth delight, C6(l 

Though the whole loosen'd Spring around her blows, 
Her sympathizing lover takes his stand 
High on the' opponent bank, and ceaseless '^ings 
The tedious time away ; or else supplies 
Her place a moment, while she sudden flits Cfi5 

To pick the scanty meal. The' appointed time 
With pious toil fulfill'd, the callow young, 
Warm'd and expanded into perfect life, 
Their brittle bondage break, and come to light, 
A helpless family, demanding food 670 

With constant clamour : O, what passions then. 



SPRING 2 

What niellin^ sentiments of kindjy care, 
On the new parent? seize ! Away they fly 
Affectionate, and undesiring bear 

The most delicious morsel to their young , G78 

Which equally distributed, again 
Thj search begins. Een so a gentle pair, 
By fortune sunk, but form'd of generous mould, 
And cliarm'd with cares beyond the vulgar breast, 
•n some lone cot amid the distant woods, .680 

8ustain'd alone by providential Heaven, 
Oft, as they weeping eye their iiifant train 
Check their own appetites, and give them all 

Nor toil alcne they scorn ; exalting love. 
By the great Father of the Spring inspired, 68& 

Giveis instant courage to the fearful race, 
And, lo the simple, art. With stealthy wing, 
Should some rude foot their woody haunts molest 
Amid a neighbouring bush they silent drop. 
And whirring thence, as if alarm'd, deceive 690 

The' unfeeling schoolboy. Hence, around the head 
Of wandering swain, the white-wing d plover wheel* 
Her Sounding flight, and then directly on 
In long excursi'»n skims the level lawn 
To tempt him from her nest. The wild-duck, hence, 
O'or the rough moss, and o'er the trackless waste 696 
The heath-hen flutters, pious fraud . to lead 
The hot pursuir.g spaniel far astray. 

Be not the Muse ashamed here to bemoan 
H^r brothers of the grove, by tyrant Man '''00 

Inhuman caught, and in the narrow cage 
From liberty confined and boundless air. 
Dull are the pretty slaves, their plumage dull, 
Ragged, and all its brightening /ustre lost ; 
Nor is that sprightly wildness in their notes, 705 

Which, clear and vigorous, warbles from the beech. 
D then, ye friends of love and love-taught song, 
Spare the soft tribes, this barbarrus art forbear 



22 SPR!N(r. 

If on your bosom innocence can win, 

Music eno-age, 07 piety persuadj. 710 

But let not chief the nightingale lament 
Her ruin'd care, too delicately framed 
To brook the harsh confinement of the cage. 
Oft when, returning with iier loaded bill, 
The' astonish'd mother finds a vacant nest, 7lfc 

By the hard hands of unrelenting clowns 
Robb'd, vo the ground the vain provision falls j 
Her* pinions ruffle, and low-<'.rorping scarce 
Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade ; 
Where, all abandon'd to despair, she sings 720 

Her sorrows through the niglit ; and, on the bough, 
Sole-sitting, still at every dying fall 
Takes up again her lamentaMe strain 
Of winding woe ; till, wide around, the woods 
Sigh to her song, and with her wail resound. 7£^ 

Bui now the feather'd youth their former bounds, 
Ardent, disdain ; and, weigh uig oft their wings. 
Demand the free possession of the sky : 
This one glad offi.;e mere, and then dissolves 
Parental love at once, now needless grown. 730 

Unlavish Wisdom never works in Vh.Ai. 
'Tis on some evening, sunny, trrateful, mild. 
When nought but balm is breathing through the woods, 
With yellow lustro briglit, that the rew tribes 
Visit the spacious heavens, and look abroad 735 

On Nature's common, far as they can see, 
Or wing, their range and pasture. O'er the brngha 
Dancing about, still at the giddy verge 
Their resolution fails ; their pinions still, 
In loose libration stretch'd, to trust the void 740 

Trembling refuse : till down before them fly 
The pavent guides, and chide, exhort, command, 
Or push them off. The surgi)ig air receives 
Us plumy burden ; and their f elf-taught wings 
Winnow the waving element. On ground 715 



SPRING. 23 

Ahi^litrd, bolder up a^ain they let d, 

F.ir.li(«r and ta.ther on, the lengthening flight, 

Till vanishd every fear, and every power 

Roused into life and action, light in air 

The' acquitted parents see their soaring ra.ce, 7M 

And once rejoicing never know them more. 

High from the summit of a craggy cliff, 
Hung jo'er the deep, such as amazing frowns 
On utmost Kilda's* shore, whose lonely race 
Rosigu tiie setting sun to Indian worlds, 7Ki 

The royal eagle draws his vigorous young. 
Strong-pounced, and ardent with paternal fire. 
Now fit to raise a kingdom of their own. 
He drives them from his fort, the towering seat, 
For ages, of his empire ; which, in peace, 7fi0 

Unstain'd he holds, while many a league to sea 
He wings his course, and preys in distant isles. 

Should 1 my steos turn to the rural seat, 
Whose lof^'j elms and venerable oaks 
Invite the rook, who high amid the boughs, 7t>5 

In early Spring, his airy city builds, 
And ceaseless caws -^musive ; there, well pleased, 
I might the various polity survey 
Of the mir'd household kind. The careful hen 
Calls all her chirping family around, T70 

Fed zrA defended by the fearless cock ; 
Whose breast with ardour flames, as on he walks, 
Graceful, and crows defiance. In the pond, 
The finely checker 'd duck, before her train. 
Rows garrulous. The stately sailing swan 775 

Gives out his snowy plumaga to the gale ; 
And, arching proud his neck, with oary feet 
Bears forward fierce, and guards his osier isle. 
Protective of his young. The turkey nigh, 
Loud threatening, reddens ; while the peacock spreads, 
His every-colour'd glory to the sun 781 

■ The fiirthest of the western islr. nds of Scotlai 



24 SPRING. 

4nd swims in radian, majesty along 

O'er the whole homely scene the cooing dove 

Flies thick in amorous chase, and wanton rolls 

The glancini»" eye, and turns the changeful neck 786 

While thus the gentle tenants of the shadt^ 
Indulge their purer loves, the rougher world 
Of brutes below rush furious into flame 
And fierce desire. Through all his lusty vcino 
The bull, deep-sr.orchd, the raging passion feela. 7.Jfl 
Of pasture sick, and negligent of food, 
Scarce seen, he wades among the yellow broom, 
While o'er his ample sides the rambling sprays 
Luxuriant shoot ; o» through the mazy wood 
Dejected wanders, nor the' enticing bud 79ft 

Crops, though it presses on his careless sense. 
And oft, in jealous maddening fancy wrapp'd, 
He seeks the fight ; and, idly butting, feigns 
His rival gored in every knotty trunk. 
Him should he meet, the bellowing war begins ; 800 
Their eyes flash fury ; to the hollow'd earth, 
Whence the sand flies, they mutter bloody deeds, 
And, groaning deep, the' impetuous battle mix : 
While the fair htlfer, balmy -breathing, near, 
Stands kindling up their rage. The trembling steed, 
With this hot impulse seized in every nerve, 806 

Nor heeds the rein, nor hears the sounding thovig • 
Blows are not felt ; but, tossing high his head. 
And by the well known joy to distant plains 
Attracted strong, all wild he bursts away ; 810 

O er rocks and woods and craggy mountains flies *, 
And, neighing, on the' aerial summit takes 
The' exciting gale ; then, steep-descending, cleavot) 
The headlong torrents foaming down the hills, 
K'en where the madness of the straiten 'd stream 815 
T'irn3 in black eddies round : such is the force 
With which his frantic heart and sinews swell. 

Nor imdelighted by the boundless Spring 
^re the broad monsters of the {oamhtQ de«i» 



KroiM the decjt oozn and gelid cavern roused, 820 

They flounce and lumble in uuwieldly joy. 

Dire wftre the strain, and dissonant, to sing 

Tlie crue'. raptures of the savage kind : 

How by this flaiue tlieir native wrath sublimed, 

Tliey roam, amid tlie fury of their heart, 83S 

1 he far resounding waste in fiercer bands, 

And growl their horrid loves But this the theme 

I sing, enraptured, to the British Fair, 

Forbids, and leads nie to the mountain br3W, 

Wiiere sits the shepherd on the grassy turf, 830 

Inhaling, healthful, the descending sun. 

Artund him feeds his many-bleating flock, 

Of various cadence ; and his sportive lambs, 

This way and that convolved, in friskful glee, 

Their frolics play. And now the sprightly race 635 

Invites them forth ; when swi^, the signal given, 

They start away, and sweep the massy mound 

That runs around the hill ; the rampart once 

Of iron war, in ancient barbarous times, 

When disunited Britain ever bled, 840 

Lost in eternal broil : ere yet she grew 

To tnis deep-laid indissoluble state. 

Wftere Wealth and Commerce lift their golden heads 

And o'er our labours Liberty and Law, 

Impartial, watch ; the wonder of a world ! 845 

Wiiat is tnis mighty breath, ye sages, say, 
Tha*, in a powerful language, felt, not heard, 
Instruct.*? the fowls of heaven ? and througli their broaift 
These arts of love ^'ifi'iises ? What, but God .'' 
Inspiring God I who, boundless Spirit all, 850 

And unremitting Energy, pervades. 
Adjusts, sustains, and agitates the whole. 
He ceaseless works alone ; and yet alop.e 
S^-^ems not to work : with such perfection friraed 
Is this complex stupendous scheme of things. 66S 

Btit, though conceal'd, to every purer eye 
'"he informing Authir m his WKirks apnears : 



HI) SVIUNG. 

r))iff, lovely S[>nng, in thee, and thy soft scenes, 

The. Siniiing Gud is seen ; whilo water, eartb, 

\nd air attest his bounty ; which exalts 861 

The hrute creation to tliis finer thought 

And annual melts their undesigning hearts 

Profusciy thus in teixlerness and joy. 

Still let iuy song a iiobler note assume, 
And sing the" infu.sive force of Spring on man. S8R 
When henven and earth, as if contending, vie 
To raise his being and serene his soul, 
(/•an he furbear to join the general smile 
Of Nilture r C'an fierce passions vex his breast, 
While every gale is peace, and every grove 870 

Is melody f hence ! from the bounteous walks 
Of Mowing Spring, yc sordid sons of eariri, 
liard. and unfeeling of another's woo, 
Or only laviaii to yourselves ; away ! 
But come, ye generous minds, in whoso wide thought, 
Of ail Ills works, creative Bounty burns fcJTC 

With warmest beam ; and on your open front 
And liberal eye, sits, from his dark retreat 
Invit;ng modest Want. Nor, till invoked, 
Can restless goodness wait ; your active search 680 
Li>avos no coid wintry corner unexplored ; 
Like silent-working Heaven, surprising oft 
The ioneiy heart witli unexpected good. 
For you the roving Spirit of the wind 
i>!nvt> Spring abroad ; for yon the teeming clotttU 885 
Dfscfnd in gladsome plenty o'er the world; 
AiKJ 'lie sun sheds his kindest rays for you, 
Vp flower of human race ' in these green days. 
Reviving Sickness lifts her languid head ; 
Life tl )ws afresh; and young-eyed Health exnlts 890 
The whole creation round. Contentment walks 
'T\\<\ snnuy okuie, and feels an inward bliss 
Jv'ijnu o'er his miod, beyond the f>ower of kingi 
T> |Mirriniso. Pure ser<;nity apace 
itwlu'Ci: \b iwolsi ntid contemplation still 8i)ft 



SPRING. ti 

By swifi (Jerrrees tliu love of Nature works, 
And wiiniis the bosom ; till at last, sublimed 
To rapture and enthusiastic heat, 
We feel the present Deity, aiid taste 
The joy of Goi' to see a happy world'. 900 

These arc the sacred feelings of thy heart, 
Thv heart inforuid by reason's purer ray, 
O Lyttelton. tlie friend ! thy passions thus 
Ajid meditations vary, as at large. 
Courting the Muse, through Hagley Park thou Btray'st; 
Thy British Tempo ! there along the dale, 906 

V/ith woods o'erhung, and shagg'd with mossy ro^.ks, 
Whence on each hand the gushing waters play, 
And down the rough cascade white dashing fall, 
Or gleam in lengthend vista through the trees, 910 
You silent steal ; or sit beneath the shade 
Of solemn oaks, that tuft the swelling mounts 
Thrown graceful round by natures careless hand. 
And pensive listen to the various voice 
Of rural peace : the iierds, the flocks, the binls, 915 
The hollow-whis])cring breeze, the plaint of rills 
That, [mrling down amid the twisted roots 
Which creep around, their dewy murmurs shake 
On t!\e Sfjoth'd ear. From these abstracted ofl. 
You wander throucrh the philosophic world ; 920 

Where in bright train continual wonders riso, 
Or to the curious or the pious eye. 
And oft, conducted by historic truth, 
You tread the long extent of backward time : 
Planning, with warm benevolence of mind 925 

And honest zeal, unwarp'd by party rage, 
Britannia's weal ; how from the venal gulf 
To raise her virtue, and her arts revive. 
Or, t-rning thence thy view, these graver thoughts 
The Muses charm : while, with sure taste refined, 930 
Vou draw the" inspiring breath of ancient song; 
Till noD.y rises, emulous, thy own. 
Perhaps thy loved Lucindc shares thy welh.. 



28 SPRING. 

With soul to thine attuned. Then Nature all 

Wear? to the lover's eye a look of love : 93S 

And all the tumult of a guilty world, 

Toss'd by ungenerous passions, sinks away. 

The tender heart is animated peace ; 

A.nd as it pours its copious treasures forth, 

[i varied converse, softening every theme, 1)40 

\ou, frequent pausing, turn, and from her eyes, 

Where meeken'd sense, and amiable grace. 

And lively sweetness dwell, enraptured, drink 

That nameless spirit of ethereal joy, 

Unutterable happiness ! which love 945 

Alone bestows, and on a favour'd few. 

Meantime you gain the height, from whose fair brow 

The bursting prospect spreads immense around : 

And snatch'd o'er hill and dale, and wood and lawn. 

And verdant field, and darkening heath between, 950 

And villages embosom'd soft in trees, 

And spiry towns Ly surging colunms mark'd 

Of household smoke, your eye excursive roams : 

Wide-stretciimg from the hall, in whose kind haunt 

The Hospitable Genius lingers still, 9f>5 

To where the broken landscape, by degrees 

Ascending, roughens into rigid hills ; 

O'er which the Cambrian mountains, like far clouds 

That skirt the blue horizon, dusky rise. 

Flush'd by the spirit of the genial year, 960 

Now from the virgin's cheek a fresher bloom 
Shoots, less and less, th^ live carnation round ; 
Her Ifps blush deeper sweets ; she breathes of youth ; 
The shining moisture swells into her eyes. 
In brighter flow ; her wishing bosom heaves ()65 

With palpitations wild ; kind tumults seize 
Her veins, and all her yielding soul is love. 
From the keen gaze her lover turns away, 
Full of the dear ecstatic power, and sick 
With sighing languishment. Ah then, ye fair ' 970 
Be greatly cautious of your sliding hearts 



SPRING. '2> 

Dare not the' infectious sigh ; the pleiuiiuof look^ 
Downcast and low, in meek submission dress d, 
But full of guile. Let not the fervent tongue, 
Prompt to deceive, with adulation smoot'i, 975 

Gain on your purposed will. Nor m Mio bower, 
Where woodbines flaunt, and roses slied a conch, 
While Evening draws her crimson curtains round, 
Trust your soft minutes with betraying Man. 

And let the' aspiring youth beware of love, li'30 

Of the smooth glance beware ; for 'tis too late. 
When on his heart the torrent softness pours ; 
Then wisdom prostrate lies, and fading fai'.ie 
Dissolves m air away ; while the fond soul, 
Wrapp'd in gay visions of unreal biiss, i>8f 

Still paints the' illusive form ; the kindling grace ; 
The' enticing smile ; the modest secmin^r eye, 
Beneath whose beauteous beams, belying heaven, 
Lurk searciiless cunning, cruelty, and death : 
And still, false-warbling in his cheated ear, 5)1X1 

Her siren voice, enchanting, draws him on 
To guileful shores and meads of fatal joy. 

E'en present, in the very lap of love 
Inglorious laid ; while music flows around, 
Perfumes, and oils, and wine, and wanton hours ; ?)9u 
Amid the roses fierce Repentance rears 
Her snaky crest ; a quick returning pang 
Shoots through the consciovis heart ; where honour slm 
And great design, against the' oppressive load 
Of luxury, by fits, impatient heave. lOOfl 

But absent, what fantastic woes, aroused, 
Rage in each thought, by restless musing fed. 
Chill the warm cheek, and blast the bloom of life .-' 
Neglected fortune flies ; and, sliding swift, 
Prone into ruin, fall his scorn'd affairs. ' "Ob 

Tis nought but gbtom around : the darken'd eup 
Loses his light. The rosy-bosom'd Spring 
To weeping fancy pines ; and yon bright arcn, 
Contracted, bends into a dusky vault 
3* 



50 SPRING 

All Nature fades extinct ; and she alono, 1010 

Heard, felt, and seen, possesses every thought, 

Fills every sense, and pants in every vein 

Books are but formal dulness, tedious friends ; 

And sad amid the social band he sits. 

Lonely, and inattentive. From his tongue 1015 

The' unfinish'd period falls : while, borne away 

On swelling thought, his wafted spirit flies 

To the vain bosom of his distant fair ; 

And leaves the semblance of a lover, fix'd 

In melancholy site, with head declined, 1020 

And love-dejected eyes. Sudden he starts. 

Shook from his tender trance, and restless runs 

To glimmering shades and sympathetic glooms ; 

Where the dun umbrage o'er the falling stream, 

Romantic, hangs ; there through the jjt-nsive dusk 

Strays, in heart-thrilling meditation lost, 1026 

Indulging all to love : or on the bank 

Thrown, amid drooping lilies, swells the breeze 

With sighs unceasing, and the brook with tears. 

Thus in soft anguish he consumes the day, 1030 

Nor quits his deep retirement, till the Moon 

Peeps through the chambers of the ileecy east, 

Enlighten'd by degrees, and in her train 

Leads on the gentle Hours ; then forth he walks, 

Beneath the trembling languish of her beam, 10% 

With sollen'd soul, and woes the bird of eve 

To mingle woes with his: or, while the world 

And all the sons of Care lie hushd in sleep. 

Associates with the midnight shadows drear ; 

And, sighing to the lonely taper, pours 1040 

His idly-tortured heart into the page, 

Meant for the moving messenger of love ; 

Where rapture burns on rapture, every lino 

With rising frenzy fired. But if on bed 

Delirious flung, sleep from his pillow flies, 1046 

All niffht he tosses, nor the h^lmy power 

In aiiy posture finds , till the array Morn 



SPUING. 3 

Lifta her p-vle iusire on tiie paler wrcUli, 
Exanimate by luve , and tlien perliaps 
Exhausted Nature sinks awhile to rest, lOSd 

Still interrn|»led by distracted dreams, 
That o'er the sick iniajrination rise, 
And ir black colours paint the mimic scene. 
Oft wi-n tlje' enchantress of his soul he talks ; 
Sometimes in crowds distress'd ; or if retirea 105.'. 
To secret winding flower-en woven bowers, 
Far from the dull impertinence of Mar, 
Jnst as he, c-edulons, his endless cares 
Beufms to loose in bhnd oblivious love, 
Snatch d from her yielded h.ind, he knows not how, 
Tiirouorh forests huge, and hni<j; untravel'd heaths lOfil 
With desolation brown, he wanders waste, 
In night and teiwpest wrapp'd : or shrinks aghast, 
Back, from tLe uending precipice ; or wades 
The turbid stream below, and strives to reach lO^iS 
The further shore ; where succourless and sad, 
She with extended amis his aid implores ; 
But strives in vain ; bi>rne by the' outrageous flood 
To distance down, he rides the ridgy wave, 
Or whelm'd beneath the boiling eddy sinks. 1070 

These ^re the charming agonies of love, 
Whose misery d<dights. But through the heart 
Should jealousy its venom once difl'use, 
Tis then delightful misery no more, 
But agony uninix'd, incessant gall, I07» 

Corroding every thought, and blasting all 
Loves paradise. Ye fairy prospects, then, 
V'e beds of roses, and ye bowers of joy. 
Farewell ! ye gleamings of dejiarted peace, 
Shiae out your last' the yellow-tinging plague 080 
Internal vision taints, and in a night 
Oi' livid gloom imagination wraps. 
An, then! instead of love-enliven'd cheeks. 
Of si;»»nv features, and of ardent eyes 
>Vii.u rtowuivf rapture briirhl. dark lookw sut^ceed, lOffi 



1^2 SPRING. 

Suffused and glaring with untendcr fire , 

A clouded aspect, and a burning cheek, 

Where the whole poison'd soul, malignant, sits 

And frightens love away. Ten thousand fears 

Invented wild, ten thousand frantic views i^KW 

Of horrid rivals, hanging on the charms 

For which he melts in fondness, eat him up 

With fervent anguish and consuming rage. 

In vain reproaches lend their idle aid, 

Deceitful pride, and resolution frail, i^>* 

Giving false peace a moment. Fancy poors, 

Afresh, her beauties on his busy thought, 

Her first endearments twining round the soul, 

With all the witchcraft of ensnaring love. 

Straight the fierce storm involves his mind anew, . 100 

Flames through the nerves, ana ooils along the veins • 

While anxioas doubt distracts the tortured heart • 

For 9'en the sad assurance of his fears 

Were ease to what he feels. Thus the warm youth, 

Whom love deludes mto his thorny wilds, tl05 

Through tlowery-tempting paths, or leads a life 

Of fever'd rapture or of cruel care ; 

His brightest aims extinguish'd all, and all 

His lively moments running down to waste. 

But happy they ! the happiest of their kind ! HIO 

Whom gentler stars unite, and In one fate 

Their hearts, their fortunes, and their beings blend. 

Tis not the coarser tie of human laws. 

Unnatural oft and foreign to the mind, 

That binds their peace, but harmony itself, 1115 

Attuning all their passions into love ; 

Where friendship full exerts her softest power, 

Perfect esteem enlivened by desire 

Ineffable, and sympathy of soul ; 

Thought meeting thought, and will preventing will, 

With boundless confidence : for nought but love 1121 

Can answer love, and render bliss secure. 

Let him, ungenerous, who, alone intesit 



SPRING. 33 

To bless Iiinisfclf, from sordid parents buys 
I'lio loathinj^ virgin, in eternal care, 112.*) 

Well merited, cui.sume his nights and days 
Let barharous nations, wlu>se inhuman lovo 
Is wild desire, fierce as the suns they feel ; 
l.tjt eastern tyrants from the light of heaven 
Seclude their bosom-slaves, meanly possoss'd If'iO 

Of a mere lifeless, violated form ; 
While those whom love cements in holy faith, 
And equal transport, free as Nature live, 
Disdaining fear. What is the world to them, 
Its pomp, its pleasure, and its nonsense all! Il3li 

Who in each other clasp whatever frir 
High fancy forms, and lavish hearts can wish ; 
Something than beauty dearer, should they look 
Or on the mind, or mind-illumined face ; 
Truth, goodness, honour, harmony, and love, li40 
The richest bounty of indulgent Heaven. 
Meantime a sniuing offspring rises round, 
And mingles both their graces. By degrees, 
The human blossom blows ; and every day, 
Soft as it roll 5 along, shows some new charm, 1145 
The father's lustre, and the mother's bloom. 
Then infant reason grows apace, and calls 
For the kind hand of an assiduous care. 
Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought, 
To teach the young idea how to shoot, 1150 

To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind. 
To breathe the' enlivening spirit, and to fix 
The generous purpose in the glowing b'-east. 
Oh, speak the joy ! ye, whom the sudden tear 
Surprises often, while you look around, 1155 

And nothing strikes your eye but sights of bliss, 
All various Nature pressing on the heart : 
An elegant sufficiency, content, 
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books, 
Ease and alternate labour, useful life, 1160 

Progressive virtue, and approving Heaven' 



34 SPRING. 

These art the matchless joys of yirtuous lore; 

And thus their moments fly. The Seasons thuSy 

As ceaseless round a jarring world they roll, 

Still find them happy ; and consenting Spriko llfiR 

Sheds her own rosy garland on their heads : 

Till evening comes at last, serene and mild ; 

When after the long vernal day of life, 

Enamour'd more, as more remembrance swells 

With many a proof of recollected love, 113IB 

Together down they sink in social sleep ; 

Together freed, f heir gentle spirits fly 

To scenes where Ioto and bKss immorta] reiga. 



SUMMER 



ITie ?»«i— •-r-""***!. lnvocafj<m. Address to Mr. Do<lin;^an 
An introductory rertectjon on the motion of the h«iivenly bodior , 
wlience tl»* avioesBion ol lito scaswns. As the faco of Nature ic 
this season is almost uixform, itie |tr»>gre«s of the poem is u d<' 
gcri()t ion of ii summer's day. Thedawn. Sun-rising. Hymn to 
tlie sun. Foreno<m. Summer insects ilnscriln-d. flaynuiking. 
Sliee|>.<)i€a.rin^. NiK>nday. A wcKidiand reireuJ. (Jrouj' o!" Iif^nie 
a"'' •^•-x'ks. A solemn grove : how it ufiectsacontemjd;tli\<j mi;til. 
A catdraw., jL.'.i ru.ie scene. View of Suiiimer in the Torr«d ^oiua 
Storm of thunder and lightning. A talc. 'J'ho sioim over, a x<- 
rene afternoon. Baihing. Hour of walkitig. Tr.ii-i( m.i t.. il<c 
pros(,«ct of a rich well cultivated country; whwli 4'iir4Mliu«w a 
paii^i'vric on Great Britain. Sun-set. Kveinng. Night. Sniii- 
mer meteors. A comet. The whole concluding wi'.h ih»i i>rai«w 
of philosophy. 



From brightening fields of ether fair disclosed, 

Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes, 

In pride of youth, and felt through Nature's d«pth 

He comes attended by the sultry Hours, 

And ever fanning breezes, on his way ; /j 

While, frotn his ardent look, the turning Sprin* 

Averts her blushful face ; and earth, and skies, 

All smiling, to his hot dominion leaves. 

Hence, let me haste into the midwood shade, 
Where scarce a sunbeam wanders through tiif: g<'»«>m ; 
And on the dark-green grass, beside the brink I i 

Of haunted stream, that by the roots of oak 
Rolls o'er the rocky channel, lie at large, 
Ana sing vhi glories of the circling year. 

Come, Inspiration ! from thy hermit-seat, l.^t 

By mortal seldom found : may Fancy dare. 
From thy fix'd serious eye, and raptured glance 
Shot on surroundinor heaven, to steal one look 
Crtduve "l" ? Poet, every power 
Exalting to an ecstasy of soul. 20 



36 SUMMilil. 

And thou, nty youthful iMuse s e-Ai)y friend, 
in whom the huii):kn gvaces all unite : 
Pure light u? mind, and tenderness of heart : 
Genius, and wisdom ", tl>e gay social st^use. 
By decency chastised ; goodness and wit, SC 

In seldom-meeting harnimiy combined ; 
IJnblemishd honour, and an active zeai 
For Britain's glory, Liberty, and Man ^ 
'> Dodington ! attend my rural soitg, 
l^toop to my theme, insjnnl every Ime, 'JU 

And teach me to deserve thy just applause. 

With what an awful world-revolving power 
Were first the unwieldly planets launch'd along 
The' illimitable void ! thus to remain, 
Amid the flux of many thousand years, 36 

That oft has swept the toiling race of men 
And all their labourd monuments away, 
Firm, unremitting, matchless, in their course ; 
To the kind-temper'd change of night and day. 
And of the seasons ever stealing round, 4') 

Minutely faithful • such the' All-perfect HanJ ! 
That poised, impels, and rules the steady whole. 

When now no more the' alternate Twins are oreu 
And Cancer reddens vi^ith the solar blaze, 
Short is the doubtful empire of the night ; 45 

And soon, observant of approaching day, 
The meek-eyed Morn appears, mother of dews, 
At first faint-gleaming in the dappled east : 
Till far o'er ether spreads the widening glow^ ; 
And, from before the lustre of her face, 50 

White break the clouds away. With quicken'd step, 
Brown Night retires : young Day pours in apace. 
And opens all the lawny prospect wide. 
The dripping rock, the mountain's misty top 
Swell on the sight, and brighten with the dawn. 5f 
Hl'iG, through the dusk, the smoking currents shine 
And from ths hladed field the fearful hare 
l^imns. ^nvkwniri ; w}>iie along the forest glade 



SUMMER. 37 

rh« wild doer trip, and often turning g;ize 
At early passenger. Music awakes GO 

Tlie native voice of undissembled joy ; 
And thick around the woodland hymns arise. 
Roused by the cock, the soon-clad sJiu])!u)rd leaver 
His mossy cottage, where with Peace he tlwells , 
Anxl from the crowded fold, in order, drives 05 

His flock, to taste the verdure of the morn. 

Falsely luxurious ! will not Man awake ; 
And, springing from the bed of slotli, enjoy 
The cool, the fragrant, and the silent hour. 
To meditation due and sacred song ? 70 

For is there ought in sleep can charm the wise .<' 
To lie in dead oblivion, losing half 
The fleeting moments of too short a life ; 
Total extinction of the' enlighten'd soul ! 
Or else, to feverish vanity alive, 7f» 

Wilder'd, and tossing through distemper'd dreams.' 
Who would in such a gloomy state remain 
Longer than Nature craves ; when every Muso 
And every blooming pleasure wait without, 
To bless the wildly devious morning walk ? 80 

But yonder comes the powerful King of Day, 
Rejoicing in the east. The lessening cloud, 
The kindling azure, and the mountain's brow 
Illumed with fluid gold, his near approach 
Betoken glad. Lo ! now, apparent all, fio 

Aslant the dew-bright earth, and colour'd air, 
He looks in boundless majesty abroad ; 
And sheds the shining day, that burnish'd plays 
On rocks and hills and towers and wandering streruua, 
High gleaming from afar. Prime cheerer, Lighv ".)0 
Of all material beings first and best ! 
Efflux divine ! Nature's resplendent robe ' 
Without whose vesting beauty all were wrapp'd 
In unessential gloom ! and thou, O Sun ! 
Soul of surrounding worlds ' in whom best seen 95 
Shines out thy Maker ! may I sing of thee ' 
4 



38 SUMMER. 

'Tis by thy secret, strong, attractive force* 
As with a chain indissoluble bound, 
1 hy system rolls entire : from the far bourn 
Of utmost Saturn, wheeling wide his round 100 

Of thirty years, to Mercury, whose disk 
Can scarce bo caught by philosophic eye, 
Lost in the near elFulgence of thy blaze. 

Informer of the planetary train ! 
Without whose quickening glance their cumbrous orbi 
Were brute unlovely mass, inert and dead, JOC 

And not, as now, the green abodes of life ! 
How many forms of being wait on thee ! 
Inhaling spirit ; from the' unfctterd mind, 
By thee sublimed, down to the daily race, 116 

The mixing myriads of thy setting beam. 

The vegetable world is also thine, 
Parent oj Seasons ! who the pomp precede 
That waits thy throne, as through thy vast domain, 
Annual, along the bright ecliptic road, I IS 

In world-rejoicing state, it moves sublime. 
Meantime the' expecting nations, circled gay 
With all the various tribes of foodful earth, 
Implore thy bounty, or send grateful up 
A common hymn : while, round th}' beaming car, 130 
High seen, the Seasons lead, in sprightly dance 
Harmonious knit, the rosy-finger'd Hours, 
The Zephyrs floating loose, the timely Rains, 
Of bloom ethereal the light footed Dews, 
And sotten d into joy the surly Storms. l2o 

Theae, in successive turn, with lavish hand, 
Shower every beaui)» e'^erv fragrance shower. 
Herbs, flowers, and fruits , and, kindlmg at thy touch, 
From land to land is flush'd the vernal ycir 

Ncr to the surface of ennven'd earth, 13X1 

Graceful with hills and dales, and leafy wood^, 
Her liberal tresses, is thy force confined : 
But, to the bowel'd cavern darting deep, 
The mineral kinds confess thy migiity doww 



SUMMER. 3f^ 

Effulgent, hence the veiny marble sliincs ; lo;' 

Hence Labour draws his tools ; lienee burnish d Wai 
Gleams on the day ! ihe nobler works of Peace 
Hence bless mankind, and generous Commerce binds 
The round of nations in a golden chain. 

The' unfruitful rock itself, impregn'd by thee, I I'l 
In dark retirement forms the lucid stone. 
The lively diamond drmks thy purest rays, 
Collected light, compact ; that, polish'd bright, 
And all its native lustre let abroad, 
Dares, as it sparkles on the fair one's breast, 145 

With vain ambition emulate her eyes. 
At thee the ruby lights its deepening glow, 
And with a waving radiance inward flames. 
From thee the sapphire, solid ether, takes 
Its hue cerulean ; and, of evening tinct, l-'* 

The purple-streaming amethyst is thine. 
With thy own smile the yellow topaz barns 
Nor deeper verdure dyes the robe of Spring, 
When first she gives it to the southern gale, l.")4 

Than the green emerald shows. But, all combined, 
Thick through the whitening opal play thy beams . 
Or, flying several from its surface, form 
A trembling variance of revolving hues, 
As the site varies in the gazer's hand. 

The very dead creation, from thy touch, 16(< 

Assumes a mimic life. By thee refined, 
In brighter mazes the relucent stream 
Plays o'er the mead. The precipice abrupt, 
Projecting 1 orror on the blacken'd flood, 
Softens at thy return. The desert joys, I6f 

Wildly, through all his melancholy bounds. 
Rude ruins glitter ; and the briny deep, 
Seen from some pointed promontory's top, 
Far to the blue horizon's utmost verge, 
Restless, reflects a floating gleam. But tins, ITfi 

A-nd all the much transported Muse can sing 



Jtj SUMMCU 

Are to thj hoauty, aignity, and use, 

llnnqual far, great delegated source 

Of light, and life, and grace, and joy lelow ' 

How shall 1 then attempt to sing of Him 1 175 

Who, Light Himself, in uncreated light 
Invested deep, dwells awfully retired 
From mortal eye or angel's purer ken ; 
Whose single smile has, from the first of time, 
Fill'd, overHowing, all those lamps of heaven 180 

That beam for ever through the boundless sky . 
But, shoulJ he hide his face, the' astonishd sun 
And all the' extinguish'd stars would loosening reel 
Wide from their spheres, and Chaos come again. 

And yet was every faltering tongue of Man, ISn 
Almighty Father ! silent in thy praise ; 
Thy Works themselves would raise a general voice, 
E'en in the depth of solitary woods 
By human foot untrod ; proclaim thy power. 
And to the choir celestial Thee resound, K- • 

The' eternal cause, supj)ort, and end of all ! 

To me be Nature's volume bread dis])lay'd , 
And to peruse its all instructing page. 
Or, haply catching inspiration thence, 
Some easy passage raptured to translate, 195 

My sole delight ; as through the falling gloom* 
Pensive I stray, or with the rising dawn 
On Fancy's eagle wing excursive soar. 

Now, flaming up the heavens, the potent sun 
Melts into limpid air the high-raised clouds, 200 

And morning fogs, that hover'd round the hills 
In party-colour'd bands ; till wide unveil'd 
The face of Nature shines, from where earth seems, 
Far stretch'd around, to meet the bending sphere 

Half in a blush of clustering roses lost, 20? 

Dew-dropping Coolness to the shade retires ; 
There, on the verdant turf, or ilowery bed, 
Oy gelid founts and careless rills to muao 



SUMMEK. 41 

While tyrant Heat, dispreading through the sky, 
With rapid sway, his burning influence darts 210 

On man and beast and herb and tepid stream. 

Who can unpitying see tJie flowery race, 
Shed by the niorU; their new-flush'd bloom resign. 
Before the parching beam ? so fade the fair, 
When fevers revel tlirough their azure veins. 2\^ 

But one, the lofty follower of the sun, 
Sad when he sets, shuts up her yellow leaves. 
Drooping all night ; and, when he warm returns, 
Points her enamour'd bosom to his ray. 

Home, from his morning task, the swain retreats ; 
His flock before him stepping to the fold : 321 

While the full-udderd mother lows around 
The cheerful cottage, then expecting food, 
The food of innocence and health ! the daw, 
The rook, and magpie, to the gray grown oaks 225 
That the calm village in their verdant arms, 
Sheltering, embrace, direct their lazy flight : 
Where on the mingling boughs they sit embower'd. 
All the hot noon, till cooler hours arise. 
Faint, underneath, the hpusehold fowls convene ; 230 
And, in a corner of the buzzing shade, 
The housedog with the vacant greyhound lies, 
Outstretch'd and sleepy. In his slumbers one 
Attacks the nightly tliief, and one exults 
O'er hill and dale ; till, waken'd by the wa.sp, 235 

They starting snap. Noi* shall the Muse disdain 
To let the little noisy summer race 
Live in her lay, and flutter through her song. 
Not mean though simple ; to the sun allied, 
From him they draw their animating fire. 24€ 

Waked by his warmer ray, the reptile young 
Come wing'd abroad ; by the light air upborne, 
Lighter, and full of soul. From every chink, 
And secret corner, where they slept away 
Vhe wmtry storms ; or, rising from their ton»li8, 24.' 
4 » 



12 sUx\ii\i;!:R. 

To higher life ; bv myriads, forth at once, 

Swarming they pour ; of all the varied hues 

Their beauty-beaming parent can dischjse, 

Ten tliousand forms, ten thousand diflerent tribes 

People the blaze. To sunny waters some 2541 

By fatal instinct fly ; where on the pool 

They sportive wheel : or, sailing down the stream, 

Are snatchd immediate by the quick-eyed trout. 

Or darting salmon. Through the greenwood glade 

Some love to stray ; there lodged, amused, and fed, 

In the fresh leaf Luxurious, others mulse 2.1l 

The Uit^iids their choice, and visit every flower 

And every latent herb : for the sweet task, 

To propagate their kinds, and where to wrap, 

In what soft beds, their young yet undisclosed, 2rin 

Employs their tender care. Some to the house, 

The fold, and dairy, hungry, bend their flight ; 

Sip round the pail, or tasta the curdling cheese ; 

Oft, inadvertent, from the mil,';y strcuiii 

They meet tlieir fate ; or, weltering in the bowl, 2G5 

With powerless wings around them wrapp'd, expire. 

Rut chief to heedless flie.s the window proves 
A constant death ; where, gloomily retired. 
The villain spider lives, cunning and tierce, 
Mixture abhorr'd ! amid a mangled lieap 27(1 

Of carcasses, in eager watch he sits, 
O'erlooking all his waving snares around. 
Near the dire cell the dreadless wanderer oft 
Passes, as oft the rufiian shows his front. 
The prey at last ensnared, he dreadful darts, 27f) 

With rapid glide, along the leaning line ; 
And, fixing in the wretch his c-uel fangs, 
Strikes backward grimly pleased ; the fluttering wing 
And shriller sound declare extreme dif tress, 
And ask tlie helping hospitable hand. 29^' 

Resounds the living surface of the ground 
Nor undelightfnl is th<.' ceaseless hum 



^umm;:ii 43 

r<i hiiii who iiiusos ihrou^ii llie \i ooil; at nuoii ; 
Or drowsy slieplierd, as he lies reclined, 
With half-shut eyes, beneath the floating shade UHii 
O'' willows gray, close crowding o'er the brook. 

Gradual, from these what numerous kinds descend 
Kvading e'en the microscopic eye ! 
Vull Nature swarms with life ; one wondrous mass 
Of animals, or atoms organized, 2'M 

Waiting the vital breath, when parent Heaven 
Shall bid his spirit blow. The hoary fen, 
In putrid steams, emits the living cloud 
Of pestilence. Through subterranean cells, 
Where searching sunbeams scarce can find a way, 20.' 
Earth animated heaves. The flowery leaf 
Wants not its soft inhabitants. Secure, 
Within its winding citadel, the stone 
Holds multitudes. But chief the forest boughs, 
That dance unnumber'd to the playful breeze, 30i 

The downy orchard, and the melting pulp 
Of me'low fruit the nameless nations feed 
Of evanescent insects. Where the pool 
Stands mantled o'er with green, invisible, 
Amid the floating verdure millions stray. ?.0f 

Each liquid too, whether it pierces, sooths, 
[nflames, refreshes, or exalts the taste. 
With various forms abounds. Nor is the stream 
Of purest crystal, nor the lucid air, 
Though one transparent vacancy it seems, 'ML 

Void of their unseen people. These, conceal'd 
By the kind art of forming Heaven, escape 
The grosser eye of man : for, if the worlds 
[n worlds enclosed should on his senses burst, 
From cates ambrosial, and the nectar d bowl 3li 

He would abhorrent turn : and in dead night, 
When silence sleeps o'er all, be stunn'd with noiee 

Let no presuming impious railer tax 
Creative Wisdom, as if aught was forra'd 
*n \ain or ^^ot for admirable ends. 3:^P 



44 SUMMEll 

Siiall ittle haughty Ignoruuco pronounce 

His works unwise, of wliich tlie smallest part 

Exceeds the narrow vision of her mind? 

As if upon a full proportion'd dome, 

On swulling columns heaved, the pride of art . iM 

A critic-fly, whose feeble ray scarce spreads 

An inch around, with blind presumption bold, 

Should dare to tax the structure of the whole 

And lives the Man, whose universal eye 

Has swept at once the' unbounded scheme of things , 

Mark'd their dependance so, and firm accord, 331 

As with unfaltering accent to conclude 

That this availeth nought ? Has any seen 

The mighty chain of beings, lessening down 

From Infinite Perfection to the brink 33.'^ 

Of dreary nothing, desolate abyss ! 

From which astonish'd thought, recoiling, turns ? 

Till then alone let zealous praise ascend. 

And hymns of holy wonder to that Power 

Whose wisdom shines as lovely on our minds 340 

As on our smiling eyes his servant sun. 

Thick in yon stream of light, a thousand ways, 
Upward and downward, thwarting and convolved, 
The quivering nations sport ; till, tempest-wing'd, 
Fierce Winter sweeps them from the face of day. 345 
E'en so luxurious men, unheeding, pass 
An idle summer life in fortune's shine, 
A season's glitter ; thus they flutter on 
From toy to toy, from vanity to vice ; 
Till, blown away by death, oblivion comes 350 

Behind, and strikes them from the book of life. 

Now swarms the village o'er the jovial mead ; 
The rustic youth, brown with meridian toil, 
Healthful and strong ; full as the summer rose 
Ulown by prevailing suns, the ruddy maid, 351 

Half naked, swelling on the sight, and all 
Her kindled graces burning o'er her cheek. 
Een stooping age is here : and infant hands 



SUMxMER. it 

Trail the long rake, or, with the fragrant load 
O'ercharged, amid the kind opjiression roll. 3C(. 

Wide flies the tedded grain ; all in a row 
Advancing broad, or wheeling round the field, 
They Bpread tiie breathing harvest to the sun, 
That throws refresiiful round a rural srnell : 
Or, as they rake the green-appf.aring ground, 3C5 

And drive the dusky wave along the rnead, 
Tlie russet haycock rises thick behind. 
In order gay. While heard frorn dale to dale, 
Waking the breeze, resounds the blended voice 
Of happy labour, love, and social glee. 370 

Or rushing thence, in one diffusive band. 
They drive the troubled flocks, by many a dog 
Compell'd, to where the mazy-running brook 
Forme a deep pool ; this bank abrupt and high, 
And that fair-spreading in a pebbled shore. 375 

Urged to the giddy brink, much is the toil, 
The clamour much, of men and boys and dogs, 
Ere the soft fearful people of the flood 
Commit their woolly sides. And oft the swain, 
On some impatient seizing; hurls them in ; 380 

Embolden'd then, nor hesitating more. 
Fast, fast they plunge amid the flashing wave, 
And, panting, labour to the farthest shore. 
Repeated this, till deep the well wash'd fleece 
Has drunk the flood, and from his lively haunt 385 
The trout is banish'd by the sordid stream ; 
Heavy and dripping, to the breezy brow 
Slow move the harmless race : where, as they spread 
Their swelling treasures to the stinny ray, 
Inly disturb'd and wondering what this wild 39tl 

Outrageous tumult means, their loud complaint* 
The country fill ; and, toss'd from rock to rock, 
Incessant bleatings run around the hills 
At last, of snowy white, the gather d flocks 
Are in the wattled pen innumeroua press'd, 301 

Head above head : and ranged in lusty rows 



46 SUMMKTv. 

The shepherds sit, and whet the soundinof shears. 

The housewife waits to roll her tleoov stores, 

With all her gay-dress'd maids atteudiuir round. 

One, chief, in gracious dignity enthroned. 400 

Shines o'er liie rest, the pastoral queen, and rays 

Her sniiles. sweet beaming on her shepherd king ; 

While the glad circle round them yield their souls 

To festive mirth, and wit that knows no gall. 

Meantime, their joyous task goes on apace ; 405 

Some mingling stir the melted tar. and some, 

Deep on the new-shorn vagrant's heaving side, 

To stamp the master's cipher ready stand ; 

Others the' unwilling wether drag along ; 

And, glorying in his might, the sturdy boy 410 

Holds by the twisted horns tlie' indignant ram. 

Behold where bound, and of its robe bereft, 

By needy Man, that all-depen<iing lord. 

How meek, how patient, the mild creature lies ! 

What softness in its melancholy face, 415 

What dumb complaining innocence appears ' 

fo.ar not, ye gentle tribes, 'tis not »he knife 

Of horrid slaughter that is o er yon waved ; 

No, 'tis the tender swain's well guided shears, 

Who having now, to pay his annual care, 4!20 

Borrow'd your fleece, to you a cumbrous load, 

Will send you bounding to your hills .Tgain. 

A simple scene ! yet hence Britannia sees 
Her solid gr.andeur rise : hence she commands 
The' exalted stores of every brighter clime, 425 

The trcas\ires of the Sun without his rage : 
Hence, fervent all, with culture, toil, and arts. 
Wide glows her land : her dreadful thunder hence 
Bides o'er the waves sublime, and now, ecn now, 
Impending hangs o'er Gallia's humbled coast : 431 
Hen'^.e rules the circling deep, and awes the world. 

'Tis raging noon ; and. vertical, the sun 
Dans on the head direct his forceful rays. 
O'er heaven and earth, far as the ran-jing eye 



SUMMER. II 

Can rtwccp, a dazzling deluge reigns , and all 4:J4 

Frnin pole to pole is undislinsruishd blaze. 
In viiin the signt, dejected, to the ground 
St(>:ps for relief; thence hot ascending steantt 
And keen reflection pain. Deep to the root 
Of vegetation parchd, the cleaving fields 448 

And slippery lawn an arid hue disclose, 
Blast Fancy's bloom, and wither e'en the soul. 
Ef;ho no more returns the cheerful sound 
Of sharpening scythe : the rnower sinking heaps 
O'er him the humid hay, with flowers perfumed; 445 
And scarce a chirping grasshopper is heard 
Through the dumb mead. Distressful Nature pants. 
Tl>€ very streams look languid from afar : 
Or, through the' unshelter'd glade, impatient, seem 
To hurl into the covert of the grove. 450 

All-conquering Heat, oh, intermit thy wrath ! 
And on my throbbing temples potent thus 
Beam not so fierce ! incessant still you flow, 
And still another fervent flood succeeds, 
Pour'd on the head profuse. In vain 1 sigh, 456 

And restless turn, and look around for night ; 
Night is far off; and hotter hours apprrtach. 
Thrice happy he ! who on the sunless side 
Of a romantic mountain, forest-crown'd. 
Beneath the whole collected sliade reclines : 4C0 

Or in the gelid caverns, woodbine-wrouglit, 
And fresh bedew'd with ever spouting streams, 
Sits coolly calm ; while all the world without, 
Unsatisfied, and sick, tosses in noon. 
Emblem inslructivo of the virtuous man, 465 

Who keeps his temper'd mind serene and pure, 
And every passion aptly harmonized, 
Amid a jarring world with vice inflamed. 

Welcome, ye shades ! ye bowery thickets, hail 
Ye lofty pines ' ye venerable oaks ! 47(1 

Y*? ashes wild, resounding o'er the steep I 
Uelicious is ynur ehelter to the s?oul. 



48 SUMMER. 

As lo the hunted hart the sallying spring, 

Or stream full flowing, that his swelling sides 

Iiaves, as he floats uioug the herbaged brink. 47i 

Cool, through tiie nerves, your pleasing conitbrt glides 

The heart beats glad . the fresli-expandcd eye 

And car resume their watch ; the sinews knit. ; 

And lite shoots swift through all the lighten'd limbs 

Around the' adjoining brook, that purls along 48fi 
The vocal grove, now fret-ling oer a roek, 
Now scarcely moving through a reedy pool, 
Now starting to a sudden stream, and now 
Gently diff'used into a limjjid plain ; 
A various group the herds and flocks compose, 485 
Rural confusion ! on the grassy bank 
Some ruminating lie ; while others stand 
Half in the flood, and often bending sip 
The circling surface. In the middle droops 
The strong laborious ox, of honest front, 490 

Which incomposed he shakes ; and from his sides 
The troublous insects lashes with his tail, 
Returning still. Amid his subjects sa/e, 
Slumbers the monarch swain : his careless arm 
Thrown round his head, on downy moss suslain'd ; 495 
Here laid his scrip, with wholesome viands fill'd ; 
There, listening every noise, his watchful dog. 

Light fly his slumbers, if perchance a flight 
Of angry gadflies fasten on the herd ; 
That startling scatters from the shallow brook, 500 
[n search of lavish stream. Tossing the foam, 
They scorn the keeper's voice, and scour the plain. 
Through all the bright severity of noon ; 
While, from their labouring breasts, a hollow moan, 
Proceeding, runs low-bellowing round the hills. 505 

Oft in this season too the horse, provoked. 
While his big sinews full of spirits swell. 
Trembling with vigour, in the heat o^ blood. 
Springs the high fence ; and, o'er the field effused, 
Darts on the gloomy flood, with steadfast eye, b)<t 



SUMMRa. 49 

And heail estranged to fear : his nerv( us chest, 
Luxuriant, and erect, the seat of streng-th 1 
Bears down tlie' opposing stream : quenchless his tliirs^ 
He takes the river at ro(iouhled draughts ; 
And with wide nostril, snorting, skims the wave. 515 

Still let me pierce into the midnisrht depth 
Of yonder grove, of wildest largest growth : 
That, forming high in air a woodland clioir, 
Nods o'er the mount beneath. At every step, 
Solemn and slow, the shadows blacker fall, 520 

And all is awful listening gloom around. 

These are the haunts of Meditation, these 
The scenes where ancient bards the" inspiring breath, 
Ecstatic, felt ; and, from this world retired, 
Conversed vinth angels and Immortal forms, 52? 

On gracious errands bent : to save the fall 
Of virtue struggling on the brinK of vice ; 
In waking whispers, and repeated dreams. 
To hint pure thought, and warn the favour'd soul 
For future trials fated to prepare ; 53C 

To prompt the poet, who devoted gives 
His muse to better themes ; to sooth the pangs 
Of dying worth, and from the patriot s breast 
(Backward to mingle in detested war, 
But foremv st when engaged) to turn ihe death ; 535 
And numberless such olBces of love, 
Oaily and nightly, zealous to perform. 

Shook sudden from the bosom of the sky, 
A thousand shapes or glide athwait the dusk, 
Or stalk majestic on. Deep roused, I feel 541; 

A sacred terror, a severe delight 

Creep through my mortal frame ; and thus, methinks, 
A voice, than human more, the' abstracted ear 
Of tancy strikes : — " Be not of us afraid, 
rcor kindred man ! thy fellow-crealures. we 545 

From the same Parent Power our beings drew, 
Tlie same our liord and laws and great [lursuit, 
\)me some of us, like thee, through slorniy life 
5 



50 SUMMER. 

Toil d, tempest-beaten, ere we could attain 

This holy calm, this harmony of mind, 5o0 

Where purity and peace immingle charms. 

Then fear not us ; but with re?})onsivo song 

Amid these dim recesses, undistnrb d 

By noisy folly and discordant vice, 

Of Nature sing with us, and Nature's God. r>r»5 

Here frequent, at the visionary hour, 

When musing midnight reigns or silent noon, 

Angelic harps are in full concert heard, 

And voices chanting from the wood-crown'd hili, 

The deepening dale, or inmost sdvan glade : 560 

A privilege bestow'd by us, alone,- 

On Contemplation, or the hallow'd ear 

Of poet, swelling to seraphic strain." 

And art thou, Stanley,* of that srcred band, 
Alas, for us too soon ! though raised above 5€5 

The reach of human pain, above the flight 
Of human joy ; yet, with a mingled ray 
Of sadly pleased remembrance, must thou feel 
A mother's love, a mother's tender woe : 
Who seeks thee still in many a former scene ; 570 
Seeks thy fair form, thy lovely beaming eyes, 
Thy pleasing converse, by gay lively sense 
Inspired : wherr mortal wisdom mildl}' shone, 
Without the toil of art ; and virtue glow'd, 
In all her smiles, witliout forbidding pride. 578 

But, O thou best of parents ! wipe thy tears ; 
Or rather to Parental Nature pay 
The tears of grateful joy, who for awhile 
Lent thee this younger self, this opening bloom 
Of thy enlightened mind and gentle worth. 580 

Believe the Muse : the wintry blast of death 
Kills not the buds of virtue ; no, they spread. 
Beneath the heavenly beam of brighter suns. 
Through endless ages, into higher powers, 

* 4 youno- iady, who died at the ag-e of eig-hteen, iv a^ 
v^ear 1"38, upon whom Thompson wrote an epitaph. 



SUMMER. 5 

Tb'js up the mount, in airy vision wrapp'd, riS& 

1 stray, regardless whither ; till the sound 
Of a near fall of water every sense 
Wakesfroni thecharm ofthoajrht : swift shrinking back, 
1 check my steps, and view the broken scene. 

Smooth to the shelving brink a copious flood 500 
Rolls fair and placid ; where, collected all 
In one impetuous torrent, down the steep 
!t thunderino shoots, and shakes the country round. 
At first an azure sheet, it rushes broad ; 
Then whitening by degrees, as prone it falls, 5D5 

And from the loud-resounding rockrs below 
Dash'd in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft 
A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower. 
Nor can the tortured wave here find repose : 
But, raging still amid the shaggy rocks, 600 

Now flashes o'er the scatter'd fragments, now 
Aslant the hollow channel rapid darts ; 
And, falling fast from gradual slope to slope, 
With wild infracted course and lessen'd roar, 
It gains a safer bed, and steals, at last, 605 

Along the mazes of the quiet vale. 

Invited from the cliff", to whose dark brow 
He clings, the steep-ascending eagle soars, 
With upward pinions, through the flood of day 
And, giving full his bosom to the biaze, 610 

Gains on the sun ; while all the tuneful race, 
Smit by afflictive noon, disorder'd droop. 
Deep in the thicket ; or, from bower to bowei 
Responsive, force an interrupted stram. 
The stockdove only through the forest coos, 6.6 

Mournfully hoarse ; oft ceasing from his plaint, 
Short interval of weary woe ! again 
The sad idea of his murder'd mate. 
Struck from his side by savage fowler's jruile, 
Across his fancy comes ; and then resounds 6S2f 

A louder song of sorrow throusrh the grove 

Beside the dewy border let inc sit. 



52 SUMMER. 

All in the freshness of tlie humid air : 

There in that hollow'd rock, grotesque and wild, 

An ample chair moss-lined, and over head ^525 

By flowering umbrage shaded ; where the bee 

Strays diligent, and with the' extracted balm 

Of fragrant woodbine loada his little thigh. 

Now, while I taste the sweetness of the shade, 
While Nature lies around deep lull'd in noon 631 

Now come, bold Fancy, spread a daring flight, 
And view the wonders of the torrid zone : 
Climes unrelenting : with whose rage compared, 
Yon blaze is feeble, and yon skies are cool. 

See, how at once the bright eff'ulgent sun, tj3.5 

Rising direct, swift chases from the sky 
The short-lived twilight : and with ardent blaze 
Looks gaily fierce through all the dazzling air : 
He mounts his throne ; but kmd before him sends, 
Issuing from out the portals of the morn, G43 

The general breeze,* to mitigate his fire, 
And breathe refreshment on a fainting world. 
Great are the scenes, with dreadful beauty crown'd 
And barbarous wealth, that see, each circling year. 
Returning suns and doubh seasons^ pass : ^4.': 

Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with rranes, 
That on the high equator ridgy rise, 
Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays : 
Majestic woods, of every vigorous green. 
Stage above stage, high wavmg o'er the hills ; 650 
Or, to t}-3 far horizon wide diffused, 
A boundless deep immensity of shade. 
Here lofty trees, to ancient song unknown, 
The noble sons of potent heat and floods, 

* Which blows constantly between the tropics from the 
east, or the coKateral points, the north-east and south-east: 
caused by the pressure of the rarefied air on that before it, 
according to the diurnal mclion of the sun from east to west. 

■f In all climates between the tropics, the sun, as he passes 
and r';passes in his annual niot'on, is twice a year vertical 
Rhich produces this efteci. 



SUMMER. r>3 

Proiie-rushing from the clouds, rear high to hn.iven r>i>r 
Their thorny steins, and broad around Iheui llir >w 
Meridian gloom. Here, in eternal priii.e. 
Unnurnber'd fruits, of keen delicious taste 
And vital spirit, drink amid the cliiis, 
And burning sands that bank the shrubby valct., ('4iO 
Redoubled day, yet in their rugged coats 
A friendly juice to cool its rage contain. 

Bear me, Pomona ! to thy citron groves ; 
To where the lemon and the piercing limo, 
With the deep orange, glowing througli the green. \'A')b 
Their lighter glories blend. Lay me reclined 
Beneath the spreading tamarind that shakes, 
Fannd by the breeze, its fever cording fruit. 
Deep in the night the massy locust sheds, 
Quench my hot limbs ; or lead me through the maze, 
Embowering endless, of the Indian fig ; 071 

Or, thrown at gayer ease, on some fair brow, 
Let nie behold, by breezy murmurs codd. 
Broad o'er my head the verdant cedar wave, 
And high palmetos lift tiieir graceful shade. 075 

Or, stretchd amid these orchards of the sun. 
Give me to drain the cocoa's milky bowi, 
And from the palm to draw its fresliening wine ! 
More bounteous far than all the frantic juice 
Which Bacchus pours. Nor, on its slender twigs t)«X) 
Low bending, be the full pomegranate scorn'd ; 
Nor, creeping through the woods, the gelid race 
Of berries. Oft in humble station dwells 
Unboastful worth, above fastidious pomp. 
Witness, thou best A nana, thou the pride 686 

Of vegetable life, beyond whate'er 
The poets imaged in the golden age : 
Quick let me strip thee of thy tufty coat, 
Spread thy ambrosia! storeS; and feast fvith Jove ! 

From these the prospect varies. Plains iminens© 
Lie stretch'd below, interminable meads, GO] 

And vast savannahs, where the wandering eye, 



54 SUMMER. 

Unfix'd, is in a verdant ocean lost. 

Another Flora there, of bolder hue«, 

And richer sweets, beyond our garden's pride 093 

Plays o'er the fields, and showers with su'lden liand 

Exuberant spring : for oft these valleys shift 

Their green-embroider'd robe to fiery brown, 

And swift to green again, as scorching suns, 

Or streaming dews and torrent rains, prevail. 700 

Along these lonely regions, where, retired 
From little scenes of art, great Nature dwells 
In awful solitude, and nought is seen 
But the wild herds that own no master s stall, 
Prodigious rivers roll their fattening seas : 70o 

On whose luxuriant herbage, half conceal'd, 
Like a fallen cedar, far diffused his train. 
Cased in green scales, the crocodile extends. 
The flood disparts : behold ! in plaited mail, 
Behemoth* rears his head. Glanced from his side, 710 
The darted steel m idle shivers flies : 
He fearless walks the plain, or seeks the hills ; 
Where, as he crops his varied fare, the herds. 
In widening circle round, forget their food. 
And at the harmless stranger wondering gaze. 715 

Peaceful beneath primeval trees, that cast 
Their ample shade o'er Niger's yellow stream. 
And where the Ganges rolls his sacred wave ; 
Or. mid the central depth of blackening woods, 
H'gh raised in solemn theatre aroand, /20 

Leans the huge elephant: wisest of brutes ! 
O truly wise ! with gentle might endow'd. 
Though powerful, not destructive ! here he sees 
Revolving ages sweep the changeful earth. 
And empires rise and fall ; regardless he 725 

Of what the never resting race of men 
Project : -thrice happy ! could he scape their guiln, 
Who mine, from cruel avarice, his steps ; 
Or with his towery grandeur swell their stite, 
* The Hippopotamus, or river-horse 



SUMMER. 55 

The pride of kingj! or else liis strength pervert, 730 
And bid him rage ainid the mortal fray, 
Astonish'd at the madness of mankind. 

Wide o'er the wiudiug umbrage of the floods, 
Like vivid blossoms glowing from afar, 
Thick swarm the brighter birds. For Nature's hand. 
That with a sportive vanity has deck'd 736 

The plnmy nations, there hei gayest hues 
Profusely pours.* But if she bids tiiem shine 
Array'd in all the beauteous beams of day, 
Yet frugal still, she humbles them in song. 74r, 

Nor envy we the gaudy robes they lent 
Proud Montezuma's realm, whose legions cast 
A boundless radiance waving on the sun, 
While Philomel is ours ; while in our shades. 
Through the soft silence of the listening night, 745 
The sober-suited songstress trills her lay. 

But come, my Muse, the desert-barrier buret, 
A wild e.vpanse of lifeless sand and sky : 
And, swifter than the toiling caravan, 
Shoot o'er the vale of Sennar ; ardent climb 750 

The Nubian mountains, and the secret bounds 
Ofjealous Abyssinia boldly pierce. 
Thou art no ruffian, who beneath tl\e mask 
Of social commerce comest to rob their wealth ; 
No holy fury thou blaspheming Fleaven, 755 

With consecrated steel to stab their peace, 
And through the land, yet red from civil wounds. 
To spread the purple tyranny of Rome. 
Thou, like the harmless bee, mayst freely range 
From mead to mead bright with exalted flowers, 'KJC5 
From jasmine grove to grove niayst wander gay 
Through palmy shades and aromatic woo<ls, 
That grace the plains, invest the peopled hills, 
\nd up the more than Alpine mountains wave 

* III all tlip i02:ioi:s of the to;Tid zone, the b'nis. though 
(uorc tipaiitiitil in tUeii pkima;5'e, ai'". oi3ser\ed to be less me- 
'<idi<»us (bail ours 



56 SUMMKR 

There on the breezy summit, sprv^ading fair, 76i> 

for many a league ; or on stupendous rocks, 

That from tlie sun-redoubling valley lift, 

Cool to the middle air, their lawny tops ; 

Where palaces and fanes and villas rise , 

And gardens smile around, and cultured fields ; 77) 

And fountains gush ; and careless herds and flocks 

Securely stray ; a world within itself, 

Disdaining all assault : there let me draw 

Ethereal soul, there drink reviving gales, 

Profusely breathing from the spicy groves 775 

And vales of fragrance ; there at distance hear 

The roaring floods, and cataracts, that sweep 

From disembowel'd earth the virgin gold ; 

And o'er the varied landscape, restless, rove, 

Fervent with life of every fairer kind : 780 

A land of wonders I which the sun still eyes 

With ray direct, as of the lovely realm 

Knamour'd, and delighting there to dwell. 

How changed the scene ! in blazing height of noon, 
The sun, oppress'd, is plunged in thickest gloom. 765 
Still horror reigns, a dreary twilight round, 
Of struggling night and day malignant mix'd. 
For to the hot equator crowding fast. 
Where, highly rarefied, the yielding air 
Admits their stream, incessant vapours roll, 790 

Amazing clouds on clo ids continual heap'd ; 
Or whirl'd tempestuous by the gusty wind, 
Or silent borne along, hv.avy, and slow, 
With the big stores of steaming oceans charged 
Meantime, amid these upper seas, condensed 795 

Around the cold aerial mountain's brow. 
And bv conflicting winds together dash'd, 
The Thunder holds his bla^k tremendous throne , 
From cloud to cloud the rending lightnings rage ; 
Till, in the furious elemental war 800 

Dissolved, the whole precipitated mass 
Unbroken floods and solid torrents p mr?. 



SUMMKR. 57 

The treasures these, !ud froiu the bounded search 
Of ancient knowledge ; whence, with annual pomp, 
Rich king of floods : o'erflows the swelling Nile. 80S 
Prom his two springs, in Gojam s sunny realm. 
Pure-welling out, he through the lucid lake 
Of fair Dambea rol's his infant stream. 
There, by the naiads nursed, lie sports away 
His playful youth amid the fragrant isles, 810 

That with unfading verdure smile around 
Ambitious thence the manly river breaks ; 
And, gathering many a Hood, and copious fed 
With all the mellow'd treasures of the sky, 
Winds in progressive majesty along : 815 

Through splendid kingdoms now devolves his maze, 
Now wanders wild o'er solitary tracts 
Of life-deserted sand ; till, glad to quit 
The joyless desert, down the Nubian rocks, 
From thundering steep to steep, he pours his urn, b'^0 
And Egypt joys beneath the spreading wave. 

His brother Niger too, and all the floods 
In which the full form'd maids of Afric lave 
Their jetty limbs ; and all that from the tract 
Of woody mountains stretch'd through gorgeous Ind 
Fall on Cormanders coast, or Malabar ; 826 

From Menam's* orient stream, that nightly shines 
With insect lamps, to where Aurora sfieds 
On Indus' smiling banks the rosy shower : 
All, at this bounteous season, ope their urns, 8JS) 

And pour untoiling harvest o'er the land. 

Nor less thy world, Columbus, drinks, refresh'd, 
I'he lavish moisture of the melting year. 
Wide o'er his isles the branching Oronoque 
Rolls a brown deluge ; and the native drives S35 

To dwell aloft on life sufficing trees, 
At once his dome, his robe, his food, and arms 

"* 'I'he river that runs ih'-oug-h Siam ; on whose banics a vwi 
fiultiuule of tliose nisects called Fire Flies make a beautifiu 
appearance in the night. 



68 SUMMER. 

Swell'd by a thousand streams, impetuous Imrl d 

From all the roaring Andes, huge descends 

The mighty Orellana* Scarce the muse 840 

Dares stretch her wing o'er this enormous mash 

Of rushing water ; scarce she dares attempt 

The sealike Plata ; to whose dread expanse, 

Continuous depth, and wondrous length of course 

Our floods are rills. With urabated force, 845 

In silent dignity they sweep along, 

And traverse realms unknown, and blooming wilds, 

And fruitful leserts, worlds of solitude. 

Where the sun smiles and seasons teem in vain, 

Unseen and unenjoy'd. Forsaking these, 850 

O'er peopled plains they fair diffusive flow, 

And many a nation feed, and circle safe. 

In their soft bosom, many a happy isle ; 

The seat of blameless Pan, yet undisturb'd 

By Christian crimes and Europe's cruel sons. 8r>5 

Thus pouring on they proudly seek the deep, 

Whose vanquish'd tide, recoiling from the shock, 

Yields to the liquid weight of half the globe ; 

And Ocean trembles for his green domain. 

But what avails this wondrous waste of wealth .' 
This gay profusion of luxurious bliss ? 861 

This pomp of Nature ? what their balmy meads, 
Their powerful herbs, and Ceres void of pain ? 
By vagrant birds dispersed, and wafting winds. 
What their unplanted fruits ? what the cool draught*, 
The' ambrosial food, rich gums, and spicy health 866 
Their forests yield ? their toiling insects what, 
Their silky pride, and vegetable robes ? 
Ah ! what avail their fatal treasures hid 
Deep in the bowels of the pitying earth, 870 

Golconda's gems, and sad Potosi's mines ; 
Where dwelt the gentlest children of the sun ! 
What all that Afric's golden rivers roll. 
Her odorous woods, and shining ivory stores ? 
* The river of the Amazons 



SUMMliIK. 8» 

ill fated race ! the softening arts of Peace, Sf 

Whate'er the humanizing Muses teach ; 
Tlie godlike wisdom of the temper'd breast ; 
Progressive truth, the patient force of thought ; 
tavestigation calm, whose silent powers 
Com uiand the world ; the light that leads to heaven ; 
Kind equal rule, the government of laws, 881 

And iill-protecting Freedom, which alone 
Sustains the name and dignity of man : 
Thdse are not theirs. The parent sun himself 
Seems o'er this world of slaves to tyrannise •, 865 

And, with oppressive ray, the roseate bloom 
Of beauty blasting, gives the gloomy hue, 
And feature gross : or worse, to ruthless deeds. 
Mad jealousy, blind rage, and fell revenire. 
Their fervid spirit fires. Love dwells not there, 8iK) 
The soft regards, the tenderness of life, 
The heart-shed tear, the* ineffable deli;:ht 
Ol sweet humanity : these court the beam 
Of milder climes ; in selfisii fierce desire, 
And the wild fury of voluptuous sense, 895 

There lost. The very brute creation there 
This rage partakes, and burns with horrid fire. 
Lo ! the green serpent, from his dark abode, 
Which even Imagination fears to tread, 
At noon forth issuing, gathers up his train 90C 

In orbs immense, then, darting out anew, 
Seeks the refreshing fount ; by which diffused, 
Rethrows his folds: and while, with threateningtcngue, 
And deathful jaws erect, the monster curls 
His flaming crest, all other thirst appall'd, 905 

Or shivering flies, or check'd at distance stands, 
Nor dares approach. But still more direful he, 
The small close-lurking minister of fate, 
Whose high-concocted venom through the veins 
A rapid lightning darts, arresting swift 9W 

The vital current. Form'd to humble man, 
^'his child of vengeful nature '. there, sublimed 



>0 SUMMKR. 

To fearless lust of blood, the savag-e race 
Roam, licensed by the shading hour of guilt, 
And foul misdeed, when the pure day has bhut 915 
IJis sacred eye. The tiger darting fierce 
impetuous on the prey his glance has doomd : 
The lively shining leopard, speckled o"er 
With many a spot, the beauty of the waste ; 
And, scorning all the taming arts of man, tV^. 

The keen hyena, fellest of the fell. 
These, rushing from the' inhospitable woods 
Of Mauritania, or the tufted isles 
That verdant rise amid the I^ibyan wild, 
Innumerous glare around their shaggy king, t>25 

Majestic, stalking o'er the printed sand ; 
And, with imperious and repeated roars. 
Demand their fated food. The fearful flocks 
Crowd near the guardian swain ; the nobler heitls, 
Where round their lordly bull, in rural ease i^3t» 

They ruminating lie, with horror hear 
The coming rage. The' awaken'd village startf , 
And to her fluttering breast the mother strains 
Her thoughtless infant. From the pirate's den, 
Or stern Morocca's tyrant fang escaped, 1^3^ 

The wretch half wishes for his bonds again : 
While, uproar all, the wilderness resounds, 
From Atlas eastward to the frighted Nile. 
Unhappy he ! who from the first of joys, 
Society, cut off, is left alone 94C 

Amid this world of death. Day after day, 
Sad on the jutting eminence he sits, 
And views the main that ever toils below ; 
Still fondly forming in the farthest verge, 
Where the round ether mixes with the wave, !>45 

S.iips, dim-discover'd, dropping from the clouds ; 
At evening, to the setting sun he turns 
A mournful eye, and down his dying heart 
Sinks helpless ; while the v/onted roar is up, 
And luss continual through the tedious night. f^'xfl 



SUMMER. 61 

YeX here, e'en here, into these black abodes 
Of monsters, unappall d, from stooping Rome, 
And guilty Cajsar, Liberty retired, 
Her Cato following througli Numidian wilds • 
Disdainful of Campania's gentle plains, ;)55 

And all tl.e green delights Ausonia pours ; 
When for them she must bend the servile knee, 
And fawning take tJie splendid robber's boon. 

Nor stop tiie terrors of these regions here. 
Commission'd demons oft, angels of wrath, 9G(' 

IjCt ioose the raging elements. Breathed hot 
From all the boundless furnace of the sky, 
And tlie wide glittering waste of Imrning sand, 
A suffocating wind the pilgrim smites 
With instant death. Patient of thirst and toil, 965 
Son of the desert ! even the camel feels, 
Shot through his wither'd heart, the fiery blast. 
Or from the black-red ether, bursting broad. 
Sallies the sudden whirlwind. Straight the sands, 
Commoved around, in gathering eddies play : 970 

Nearer and nearer still they darkening come ; 
Till, with the general all-involving storm 
Swept up, the whole continuous wilds aiise , 
And by their noonday fount dejected thrown. 
Or sunk at night in sad disastrous sleep, 97J 

Beneath descending hills, the caravan 
Is buried deep. In Cairo's crowded streets 
The' impatient merchant, wondering, waits in vain, 
AtA Mecca saddens at the long delay. 

But chief at sea, whose every flexile wave 980 

Obeys the blast, the' aerial tumult swells. 
In the dread ocean, undulating wide. 
Beneath the radiant line that girts the globe. 
The circling Typhon* whirl'd from point to point, 
Exhausting all the rage of all the sky, 985 

And dire Ecnephia* reign. Amid the heavens, 

* Typhon and Ecnephia, names of particular storms or hur- 
Icanes, known only between the tropics. 
6 



62 SUMMER. 

Falsely seiene, deep in a cloudy speck* 

Compress'd, the mighty tempest brooding d^«lli 

Of no regard, save to the skilful eye, 

Fiery and foul, the small prognostic hangs 996 

Aloft, or on the promontory V- brow 

Musters its force. A faint deceitful calm, 

A fluttering gale, the demon sends before, 

To tf.npt the spreading sail. Then down at onco, 

Precipitant, descends a mino-Ied mass 995 

Of roaring winds and flame and rushing floods. 

In wild amazement fix'd the sailor stands. 

Art is too slow : by rapid fate oppress'd, 

His broad-wing'd vessel drinks the whelming tide, 

Hid in the bosom of the black abyss lOOfl 

With such mad seas the daring Gamai fought, 

For many a day, and many a dreadful night, 

Incessant, labouring round tht^ stormy Cape ; 

By bold ambition led, and bolder thirst 

Of gold. For then from anoi^nt gloom emerged 1005 

The rising world of trade : the Genius, then, 

Of navigation, that, in hopeloss sloth, 

Had slumber'd on the vast Atlantic deep, 

For idle ages, starting, heard at last 

The Lusitanian Prince ;! who, Heaven-inspired, 1010 

To love of useful glory roused mankind, 

And in unbounded commerce mix'd the world. 

Increasing still the terrors of these storms. 
His jaws horrific arm'd with threefold fate, 
Here dwells the direful shark. Lured by the scent 1016 
Of steaming crowds, of rank disease, and death. 
Behold ! he rushing cuts the briny flood, 

* Called by sailors the Ox-eye. beinj^ in appearance at firsS 
no bigger. 

f Vasco de Gama, the first who sailed round Afirica by the 
Cape of Good Hope, to the East Indies. 

X Don Henry, third son to John the First, King of Portugal. 
His slrong geJiius to the discovery of new countries was lh€ 
chii^f source of all thf modern iini;rovementsof navigatiou. 



SUMMER. 63 

Swift as the jrale can bear the ship along , 
And, from the partners of that cruel trade 
Which spoils unhappy Guinea of her sons, 1()20 

Demands his share of prey ; demands themselves. 
The stormy fates descend : one death involves 
Tyrantsand slaves; when straight, their mangled 'inibi* 
Crashing at once, he dyes the purple seas 
With gore, and riots in the vengeful meal. 102i 

When o'er this world, by equinoctial rains 
Flooded immense, looks out the joyless sun. 
And draws the copious steam ; from swampy fens, 
Where putrefaction into life ferments, 
And breathes destructive myriads: or from woods, 1030 
Impenetrable shades, recesses foul, 
In vapours rank and blue corruption wrapp'd, 
Whose gloomy horrors yet no desperate foot 
Has ever dared to pierce ; then, wasteful, forth 
Walks the dire Power of pestilent disease. 1035 

A thousand hideous fiends her course attend, 
Sick Nature blasting, and to heartless woe, 
And feeble desolation, casting down 
The towering hopes and all the pride of Man. 
Such as, of late, at Carthagena quench d 104l 

The British fire. You, gallant Vernon, saw 
The miserable scene ; you, pitying, saw 
To infant weakness sunk the warrior's arm , 
Saw the deep-racking pang, the ghastly form, 
The lip pale-quivering, and the beamless eye 104' 
No more with ardour bright : you heard the groans 
Of agonizing ships from shore to shore ; 
Heard, nightly plunged amid the sullen waves, 
The frequent corse : while on each other fix'd, 
In sad presage, the blank assistants seem'd, 1050 

Silent, to ask, whom Fate would next demand. 
What need I mention those inclement skies, 
Where, frequent o'er the sickening city, Pla^e, 
The fiercest child of Nemesis divine, 
Descends ' From Ethiopia's poison'd woodB, 1055 



f»4 SUMMh:R. 

From slifled Cairo's filth, and fetid fields 

With locust armies putrefying heap'd, 

This great destroyer sprung. Her awful rage 

The brutes escape : Man is her destined prey, 

Intemperate Man ! and, o'er his guilty domes, 10(j<i 

Slie draws a close incumbent cloud of death : 

Uninterrupted by the living winds. 

Forbid to blow a wholesome breeze ; and stain'd 

With many a mixture by the sun, suffused, 

Of angry aspect. Princely wisdom, tlien, lOGTj 

Dejects his watchful eye ; and from the hand 

Of feeble justice, ineffectual, drop 

The sword and balance : mute the voice of joy, 

And hush'd the clamour of the busy world. 

Empty the streets, with uncouth verdure clad ; 1070 

Into the worst of deserts sudden turn'd 

The cheerful haunt of men ; unless escaped 

From the doom'd house, where matchless jiorror reigns. 

Shut up by barbarous fear, the smitten wretch, 

With frenzy wild, breaks loose; and, loud to Heav(Mi 

Screaming, the dreadful policy arraigns, JU7<i 

Inhuman, and unwise. The sullen door. 

Yet uninfected, on its cautious hinge 

Fearing to turn, abhors society : 

Dependants, friends, relations, Love himself, !l)80 

Savaged by woe, forget the tender tie. 

The sweet engagement of the feeling heart. 

But vain their selfish care • the circling sky, 

The wide enlivening air is full of fate ; 

And, struck by turns, in solitary pangs lOHb 

They fall, unbless'd, untended, and unmourn'd. 

Thus o'er the prostrate city black Despair 

Extends her raven wing ; while, to complete 

The scene of desolation, stretch'd around, 

The grim guards stand, denying all retruat, 1091 

And give the flying wretch a better death. 

Much yet remains unsung : the rage intense 
Of brazen- vaulted skies, of iron fields. 



SUMVIiCfl 65 

Where drought and fiiainc starve the blasted year 
Fired by the torch of noon to tenfold rage, 1095 

The' infuriate hill that shoots tiie pillar'd flame ; 
And, roused within the subterranean world, 
The' expanding earthquake, that resistless shakes 
Aspiring cities from their solid base. 
And buries mountains in the flaming gulf. 1 100 

But 'tis enough ; return, my vagrant Muse : 
A nearer scene of horror calls thee home. 

Behold, slow-settling o'er the lurid grove 
Unusual darkness broods ; and growing gains 
The full possession of tiie sky, surcharged 1105 

With wrathful vapour, from tlie secret beds, 
Where sleep tiie mineral generations, drawn. 
Tlience nitre, sulphur, and the fiery spume 
Of fat bitumen, steaming on the day, 
With various tinctured trains of latent flame, 1110 
Pollute the sky, and in yon baleful cloud, 
A reddening gloom, a magazine of fate 
Ferment ; till, by the touch ethereal roused. 
The dash of clouds, or irritating war 
Of fighting winds, while all is calm below, 1115 

They furious spring. A boding silence reigns, 
Dread through the dun expanse ; save the dull sound 
Tliat from the mountain, previous to the storm, 
Rolls o'er the muttering earth, disturbs the flood. 
And shakes the forest-leaf without a breath. 1120 

Prone, to the lowest vale, the aerial tribes 
Descend : the tempest-loving raven scarce 
Dares wing the dubious dusk. In rueful gaze 
The cattle stand, and on the scowling heavens 
Cast a deploring eye ; by man forsook, 1123 

Who to the crowded cottage hies him fast, 
Or seeks the shelter of the downward cave- 

'Tis listening fear, and dumb amazement all : 
When to the startled eye the sudden glance 
Appears far south, eruptive through the cloud ; 113C 
4nd, following slower, in explosion vast, 



t)6 S I'M Mi: II. 

The Thunder raises his treinetulous voice. 

At first, heard solemn o'er the verge of heaven, 

The tempest growls ; but as it nearer comes, 

And rolls its awful harden on the wind, 1135 

The lightnings llash a larger curve, and more 

The noise astounds . till over head a sheet 

Of livid flame di..closcs wide ; then shuts, 

And opens wider ; shuts and opens still 

Expansive, wrapping ether in a blaze. 11 i<i 

Follows the loosen'd aggravated roar, 

Enl rging, deepening, minglmg ; peal on peal 

Crush'd horrible, convulsing heaven and earth. 

Down comes a deluge of sonorous hail, 
Or prone-descending rain. Wide-rent, the clouds I14.'i 
Pour a whole flood ; and yet, its flame um[uencli d, 
The' unconquerable lightning struggles through, 
Ragged and lierce, or in red whirling balls. 
And fires the mountains with redoubled rags. 114'' 
Black from the stroke, above, the smouldering pine 
Stands a sad shatter'd trunk ; nnd, stretchd below, 
A lifeless group the blasted cattle lie : 
Here the sofl, flocks, with that same Imrmless look 
They wore alive, and ruminating still 
In fancy's eye ; and there the f'-owning tiull, 1156 
And ox half-raised. Struck on the castled cliff, 
The venerable tower and s\nry fane 
Resign their aged pride. The gloomy woods 
Start at the flash, and from their deep recess, 
Wide-flaming out, their trembling inmates shake ! i&\ 
Amid Carnarvon's mountains rages loud 
The repercussive roar : with mighty crush, 
[nto the flashing deep, from the rude rocks 
Of Penmanmaur heap'd hideous to the sky, 
Tumble the smitten cliffs: and Snowden's peak., H6E 
Dissolving, instant yields his wintry load. 
Far seen, the heights of heathy Cheviot blaze, 
l^nd Thulc bellow^s through her utmost isles. 

Guilt hears appall'd, with deeply troubled t}if)nght 



SUMMER. «? 

And yet not always on the guilty head 1570 

Descends the fated Hash. Young Celadon 
And his Amelia were a matchless pair ; 
With equal virtue foim'd, and equal grace, 
The same, distinguished by their sex alone 
Kers the mild lustre of the blooming morn, 1 175 

And his the radiance of the risen day. 

They loved : but such the guileless passion was, 
As in the daw^n of tiine inform'd the heart 
Of innocence, and undissembling truth. 
'Twas friendship heightened by the mulual wish ; IISO 
The' enchanting liope and sympathetic glow 
Beam'd from the mutual eye. Devoting all 
To love, each was to each a dearer self; 
Supremely happy in the' awakend power 
Of giving joy. Alone, amid the shades, 1185 

Still in harmonious intercourse they lived 
The rural day, and talkd the flowing heart. 
Or sigh'd and look'd unutterable thinors. 

So pass'd their life, a clear united stream. 
By care unruffled ; till, in evil hour, 1 iSKi 

The tempest caught them or. the tender walk, 
Heedless how far and where its mazes stray'd, 
While, with each other bless'd, creative love 
Still bade eternal Eden smile around. 
Presaging instant fate her bosom heaved I i''«?. 

Unwonted sighs, and. stealing ofl a look 
Of the big gloom, on Celadon her eye 
Fell tearful, wettmg her disorder d cheek. 
In vain, assuring love and confidence 
In Heaven repre?s'd her fear ; it grew, and shook 
Her frame near dissoljtion. He perceived l*<ifll 

Tho' unequal conflict ; and as ansrels look 
On dying saints, his eyes compassion shod, 
With love illumined high. " Fear not." he said, 
" Sweet innocence ! thou stranger to offence, 1205 
And inward storm ! He, who yon skies involves 
(n fnwns of darkness, ever smiles on thee 



68 S!U^t!^^f.n. 

With kind res^ard. O'er thee tlie secret shall 

That wastes at midnight, or the" undreadcd hour 

Oi'noon, flies harmless : and that very voice, 1210 

Which thunders terror through the guilty heart, 

(Vith tongues of seraphs whispers peace to thine 

Tis safety to be near thee sure, and tims 

To clasp perfection !" From his void embrace, Viii 

(Mysterious Heaven !) that moment, to the ground, 

A blacken'd corse, was struck the beauteous maid. 

But who can paint the lover, as he stood, 

Pierced by severe amazement, hating life, 

Speechless, and fix'd in all the death of woe ! 

So, faint resemblance ! on the marble tomb, 1220 

The well desembled mourner stooping stands, 

For ever silent and for ever sad. 

As from the face of heaven the shattered clouds 
Tumultuous rove, the' interminable sky 
Sublimer swells, and o'er the world expands 1225 

A purer azure. Through the lighten'd air 
A higher lustre and a clearer calm, 
Diffusive, tremble ; while, as if in sign 
Of danger past, a glittering robe of joy, 
Set off abundant by the yellow ray, 1230 

Invests the fields ; and nature smiles revived. 

'Tis beauty all, and grateful song around, 
Join'd to the low of kine, and numerous bleat 
Of flocks thick-nibbling through the clover'd vale. 
And shall the hymn be marr'd by thankless Man, 123ij 
Most favour 'd ! who with voice articulate 
Should lead the chorus of this lower world j 
Shall he, so soon forgetful of the Hand 
That hush'd the thunder, and serenes the sky, 
Extinguish'd feel that spark the tempest waked, 1240 
That sense of powers exceeding far his own, 
Ere yet his feeble heart has lost its fears ? 

Cheer'd b}' the milder beam, the sprightly youth 
Sperids to the well known pool, whose crystal depth 
\ sandy bottom shows. Awhile he stands 1S45 



SUMMER. 6<» 

Gazing the* inverted landscape, half afraid 
To meditate the blue profound below ; 
Then plunges headlong down the circling flood. 
His ebon tresses and his rosy cheek 
Instant emerge ; and, through the' obedient wave, 
At each short breathing by his lip reoell'd, 1251 

With arms and legs according well, he makes 
As humour leads, an easy-winding path ; 
While, from his polish'd sides, a dewy light 
Effuses on the pleased spectators round. 1255 

This is the purest exercise of health. 
The kind refresher of the summer heats ; 
Nor when cold Winter keens the brightening flood, 
Would I weak-shivering linger on the brink. 
Thus life redoubles, and is oft preserved, 1260 

By the bold swimmer, in the swift elapse 
Of accident disastrous. Hence the limbs 
Knit into force ; and the same Roman arm, 
That rose victorious o'er the conquer'd earth, 
First learn'd, while tender, to subdue the wave. 1265 
Even from the body's purity, the mind 
Receives a secret sympathetic aid. 

Close in the covert of a hazel copse, 
Where winded into pleasing solitudes 
Runs out the rambling dale, young Damon sat, 1270 
Pensive, and pierced with love's delightful pangs. 
There to the stream that down the distant rocks 
Hoarse-murmuring fell, and plaintive breeze that play'd 
Among the bending willows, falsely he 
Of Musidora's cruelty complain'd. 1275 

She felt his flame ; but deep within her breast 
In bashful coyness, or in maiden pride, 
The soft return conceal'd ; save when it stole 
In sidelong glances from her downcast eye. 
Or from her swelling soul in stifled sighs. 128fl 

Touch'd by the scene, no stranger to his vows. 
He framed a melting lay, to try her heart ; 
And, if an infant passion struggled there, 



70 SUMMER. 

To call that passion forth. Ihrice riajpy swain ! 

A lucky chance, that oft decides the fate 15486 

Of mighty monarchs, then decided thine. 

7or lo ! conducted by the laughing Loves, 

This cool retreat his Musidora sought : 

Warm in her cheek, the sultry season glow'd ; 

And, robed in loose array, she came to bathe 1290 

Her fervent limbs in the refreshing stream. 

What shall he do .'' In sweet confusion lost, 

And dubious flutterings, he awhile remain'd : 

A pure ingenuous elegance of soul, 

A delicate refinement, known to few, 1295 

Perp!ex'd his breast, and urged him to retire : 

But love forbade. Ye prudes in virtue, say. 

Say, ye severest, what would you have done ? 

Meantime, this fairer nymph than ever bless 'd 

Arcadian stream, with timid eye around 1300 

The banks surveying, stripp'd her beauteous limbs, 

To taste the lucid coolness of the flood. 

Ah then ! not Paris on the piny top 

Of Ida panted stronger, when aside 

The rival-goddesses the veil divine 1305 

Cast unconfined, and gave him all their charmB. 

Than, Damon, thou ; as from the snowy leg, 

And slender foot, the' inverted silk she drew ; 

As the soft touch dissolved the virgin zone ; 

And, through the parting robe, the' alternate breast, 

With youth wild-throbbing, on thy lawless gaze 1311 

In full luxuriance rose. But, desperate youth, 

Hew durst thou risk the soul-distracting view; 

As from her naked hmbs of glowing white. 

Harmonious swell d by Nature's finest hand^ 1315 

In fcCds loose-floating fell the fainter lawn ; 

And fair-exposed she stood, shrunk from herself 

With fancy blushing, at the doubtful breeze 

Alarm 'd, and starting like the fearful fawn ? 

Then to the flood she rush'd; the parted flood 13ii<l 

Its bvely guest with closing waves received ; 



V 



SUMMER, n 

Ann every beauty softeiiinff, every gi-ao« 

Flushing anew, a mellow lustre shed : 

As shines the lily thr«ugh the crystal mild , 

Or as the rose amid the morning dew, 1325 

Fresh from Aurora's liand, more sweetly glows. 

While thus she wanton'd, now beneath the wave 

But ill concealed ; and now with streaming lock*, 

That half-embraced her in a humid veil, 

Rising again, the latent Damon drew 1330 

Such maddening draughts of beauty to the soul 

As for awhile o'erwhelm'd his raptured thought 

With luxury too daring. Check'd, at last, 

By love's respectful modesty, he deem'd 

The theft profane, if aught profane to love 1335 

Can e'er be deem'd ; and, struggling from the shade, 

With headlong hurry fled : but first these lines, 

Traced by his ready pencil, on the bank 

With trembling hand he threw • — " Bathe on, my fair, 

Yet unbeheld save by the sacred eye 1340 

Of laithful love : 1 go to guard thy haunt, 

To keep from thy recess each vagrant foot. 

And each licentious eye." With wild surprise. 

As if to marble struck, devoid of sense, 

A stupid moment motionless ihe stood : 1345 

So stands the statue* that enchants the world, 

So bending tries to veil the matchless boast. 

The mingled beauties of exulting Greece. 

Recovering, swift, she flew to find those robes 

Which blissful Eden knew not ; and, array'd 1350 

In careless haste, the' alarming paper snatch'd. 

But, when her Damon's well known hand she saw. 

Her terrors vanish'd, and a sofler train 

Of raix'd emotions, hard to be described. 

Her sudden bosom seized : shame void of guilt, 135fi 

The charming blush of innocence, esteem. 

And admiration of her lover's flame, 

hf modesty exalted . even a senso 

• The Venus ot Medioi. 



72 SUMMER. 

Of self-approving beauty stole across 

Her busy thought. At length, a tender calm )i3G« 

Hushd by degrees the tuujult of her soul ; 

And on the spread iiig bbb'vli, that o'er the stream 

Incumbent hung, she with the silvan pen 

Of rural lovers this confessi<»n carved, 

Which soon her Damon kissd with weeping joy : l3CrT 

" Dear youth ! sole judge of what these verses mean 

By fortune too much favour'd, but by love, 

Alas ! not favour'd less, be still as now 

Discreet ; the time u-iay come ycju need not fly." 

The sun has lost his rage ; his downward orb 137'' 
Shoots nothing now out animating warmth, 
And vital lustre ; that, with various ray, 
Lights up the clouds, those beauteous robes of heaven. 
Incessant roll'd into rojnantic shapes, 
The dreaui of waking fixncy ! broad below 1375 

Cover'd with ripening fruits, and swelling fast 
Into the perfect year, the pregnant earth 
And all her tribes rej(jice. Now the soft hour 
Of walking comes: for him who lonely loves 
To seek the distant hills, and there converse 13i?C 

With Nature ; there to harmonize his heart, 
And in pathetic song to b'-eathe around 
The harmony to others. Social friends, 
Attuned to happy unison of soul ; 

To whose exaliing eye a fairer world, ISST 

Of which the vulgar never had a glimpse, 
Displays its charms ; whose minds are richly fraught 
With philosophic stores, superior light; 
And in whose breast, enthusiastic, burns 
Virtue, the sons of interest deem romance ; 139»» 

Now call'd abroad enjoy the falling day : 
Now to the verdant Portico of woods, 
To Natvre's vast Lyceum, forth they wa!k 
By that kind School where no pioud master re^j/ns. 
The full fr.^e converse of the fri^^ndlv h,-;art, 13;>5 

Improving and improved. Now from tiie v,.trld. 



SUMMER 7o 

Sactcd to sweet retiremcnl, K.vers steal. 

And pour their souls in tninspurt, which the Sire 

or love approving hears, and calls it good. 

Which way, Amanda, sliali we bend our course ? MOO 

The choice perplexes. Wherefore should we choose ? 

All is the same with thee. Say, shall we wind 

Along the streams? or walk the siiiilincr riieiid * 

Or court the forest glades .' or wander wild 

.\niong the waving harvest.' or ascend, li05 

While radiant Summer opens ail its pri<le, 

Thy hill, delightful Shene ■** Here let us sweep 

The boundless landscape : now the raptured eye, 

E.vulting swift, to huge Augusta send ; 

Nov; to the Sister Hillst that skirt her plain, 1410 

To lofly Harrow now, and now to where 

Majestic Windsor lifts his princely brow. 

In lovely contrast to this glorious view 

Calmly magnificent, then will we turn 

To where the silver Thames first rural grows 1415 

There let the feasted eye unwearied stray : 

Luxurious, there, rove through the pendent woods 

That nodding hang o'er Harrington's retreat ; 

And, stooping thence to Ham's embowering walks, 

Beneath whose shades, in spotless peace retired, 1420 

With Her the pleasing partner of his heart. 

Tile worthy Queensberry yet laments his Gay, 

And polish'd Cornbury woos the willing Muse. 

Slew let us trace the matcnless Vale of Thames ; 

Fair-winding up to where the Muses haunt 1425 

In Twit'nam's bowers, and for their Pope implore 

riie h(ialing God ;i to royal Hampton's pile, 

To Clermont's terraced height, and Esher's groves. 

Where in the sweetest solitude, embraced 

By the soft windings of the silent Mole, 1430 

Frotu courts and senates Pelham finds repose. 

* The old name of Richmond, .sig^nifying, in Saxon, ShiniQg 
)r Splendour. • 

*H(«ti^aie and Hanipslead. \\\\ his in^i sickne.Sit. 

7 



74 SUMMEK. 

E'lchantinflr vale ! beyond whatt^'er the Muse 

Hds of Achaia or Heypena sung ! 

O vale of bliss ! O softly swellinir hills ! 

On which the Power of Cultivation lies, 436 

And joys to see the wonders of his toil. 

Heavens ! what a goodly prospect spreads around, 
Of hills, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires, 
And glittering towns, and gilded streams, till all 
The stretcliing landscape into smoke decays! t i4»l 

Happy Britannia ! where the Queen of Arts, 
Inspiring vigour. Liberty abroad 
Walks, unconfined, even to thy furthest cots, 
And scatters plenty with unsparing hand. 

P^ich is thy soil, and merciful thy clime ; 1445 

Thy streams unfailing in the Summer's drought ; 
Uninatchd thy guardian oaks ; thy valleys float 
With golden waves : and on thy mountains flocks 
Bleat numberless ! while, roving round the sides, 
Beiiow the blackening herds in lusty droves. »45<) 

Beneath, thy meadows glow, and rise uncjuell'd 
Against the mower's scythe. On every hand 
Thy villas shine. Thy country teems with wealth , 
And property assure* it to the swain, 
Pleased and unwearied, in his guarded toil. 1455 

Full are thy cities with the sons of Ait ; 
And trade a«d joy, in every busy street. 
Mingling are heard -. e'en Drudgery himself, 
As at the car he sw^eats, or dusty hews 
The palace stone, looks gay. Thy crowded ports, 
Where rising masts an endless prospect yield, 14tll 
With labour burn, and echo to the shouts 
Of hurried sailor, as he hearty waves 
His last a^dipu, and, loosening every sheet, 
Resigns the spreading vessel to the wind. 1465 

Bold, firm, and graceful are thy generous youth. 
By hardship sinew'd, and by danger fired, 
Scattering the nations whore they go ; and firrt 
Or on tlie lisped plain, or «iormv seas. 



SI/MM lOR 75 

Mild are thy ^'lories too, as oer the plans 
Of thriving peace thy liioughtful sires preside; 
In genius and substantial learning high ; 
For every virtue, every worth, renown d ; 
Sincere, plain-hearted, hospitable, kind ; 
Yet like the mustering thunder when provoked, 147a 
The dread of tyrants, and the sole resource 
Of those that under grim oppression groan. 

Thy sons of Glory many ! Alfred thine, 
In whom the splendour of heroic war, 
And more heroic peace, when govern'd well, I4,S0 
Combine ; whose hallow'd name the Virtues saint, 
And his own Muses love ; the best of Kings ! 
With him thy Edwards and thy Henries shine, 
Names dear to fame ; the first who deep irnpress'd 
On haughty Gaul the terror of thy arms, l4.So 

That awes her genius still. In statesman thou, 
And patriots, fertile. Thine a steady More, 
Who, with a generous though mistaken zeal, 
Withstood a brutal tyrant's useful rage, 
Like Cato firm, like Aristides just, 1490 

Like rigid Cincinnatus nobly poor, 
A dauntless soul erect, who smiled on death. 
Frugal and wise, a Walsingham is thine ; 
A Drake, who made thee mistress of the deep, 
And bore thy name in thunder round the world. 1 1!)5 
Then flamed thy spirit high : but who can speak 
The numerous worthies of the Maiden Reign ? 
In Raleigh mark their every glory luixd ; 
Raleigh, the scourge of Spain ! whose breast with td] 
The sage, the patriot, and the hero biirnd. J50(i 

Nor sunk his vigour, when a coward reign 
The warrior fetter'd, and at last resignd. 
To glut the vengeance of a vanquish d foe. 
Then, active still and unrestraind, his mind 
Explored the vast extent of ages past, 150? 

And with his prison-hours enrich d the v.-orld ; 
Yet found no times, in all the l;.n(r reseaicii 



70 SUMMER 

So orloriniis or so base as those he proved. 
In which he conquerd. and in wliich he blev'. 
Nor can the Muse the gallant Sidney pass, I5h' 

The plume of war ! with early laurels ^rownd. 
Tlie lover's myrtle, and the poet's bay. 
A Hampden too is thine, illustrious land, 
Wise strenuous, firm, of unsubmitting soul, 
WJ o stemmd the torrent of a downward age IMS 
To slavery prone, and bade thee rise again, 
In ail thy native pomp of freedom bold. 
Bright, at his call, thy Age of Men effulged, 
Of Men on whom late time a kindling eye 
Shall turn, and tyrants tremble while they read. 1520 
Bring every sweetest fiower, and let me strew 
The grave where Russcl lies ; whose temper'd blood 
With calmest cheerfulness for thee resign d, 
S^ain'd the sad annals of a giddy reign ; 
Aiming at lawless power, though meanly sunk 152« 
In loose inglorious luxury. With him 
His friend, tho British Cassius,* fearless bled ; 
Of high detexmin'd spirit, roughly brave, 
By ancient learning to the' enlighten'd love 
Of ancient freedom warm'd. Fair thy renown 1530 I 

In awful sages and in noble bards ; ] 

Soon as the light of dawning Science spread ' 

Her orient ray, and waked the Muses' song • 
Thine is a Bacon ; hapless in his choice, 
Uunt to stand the civil storm of state, 1535 

And through the smooth barbarity of courts, 
With firm but pliant virtue, forward still 
To urge his course : him for the studious shade 
Kind Nature form'd, deep, comprehensive, clear, 
Exact, and elegant : in one rich soul, 1540 

Plato, the Stagyrite, and Tully join'd. ii 

Tho great deliverer he ! who from the gloom ■ 

Of cloister'd monks, and jargon-teaching schools, 
Ued forth the true Philosophy, there lon^ 
* Alg( i-non Sidney. 



I 



SUMMER. T: 

Held in the magic chain of wor«J.-- and ronns. l.'vtS 

And definitions void : he led her fmlii, 
Daughter of Heaven 1 that slow ascending stWll, 
Investigating sure the chain of things. 
With radiant finger points to heaven ngain. 
Die generous Ashley* thine, the fricwui of man : lur^d 
Who scann'd his nature with a hrothers eye, 
His weakness prompt to shade, to raise his aii'i, 
To touch the finer rnovemonts of the mind. 
And with the moral beauty charm the heart. 
Why need 1 name thy lioyle, whf»se pious search, lo.'.S 
Amid the dark recesses of his works, 
The great Creator sought .' Aiid why thy Locke, 
Who made the whole internal world his own r 
Let Newton, pure intelligence, whom Got) 
To mortals lent, to trace his boundless works ir>(>() 

Frf«m laws sublimely siniple, speak tliy fame 
In all i)hiloso[»hy. Ftjr lofty sense, 
Creative fancy, and inspection keen 
Through the deep windings of the human heart. 
Is not wild Shakspeare thine and Nature's boast .'' I56{ 
li not each great, each a»uiaV>le Muse 
Of classic ages in thy Milton tuet .'' 
A genius universal as his theme ; 
Astonishing as chaos, as the bloom 
Of blowing Fiden fair, as heaven sublime ! 1570 

Nor shall my verse that elder bard forget. 
The gentle Spenser, Fancy's pleasing son ; 
Who, like a copious river, pour'd his song 
O'er all the mazes of enchanted ground : 
Nor thee, his ancient master, laughing sage, 1575 

Ch<jucer, whose native mauners-painting verse, 
Well moralized, shinos through the got hie cloud 
Of time and language o'er thy genius thrown. 

May my song soften, as thy daughters I, 
Britannia, hail I for beauty is their own, 15^ 

The feeling heart, simplicity of life, 

* A««ihony Ashley Cooper, Ear) of ShnfifsKiuy. 
7* 



78 SUMMKR. 

And elegance, and taste : the faultless form, I 

Shaped by tlie liand of harmony ; the cheek ' 

Where the Uve crimson, tlirough the native white 

Soft-shooting, o'er the face diffuses bloom, 158S 

And every nameless grace ; the parted lip ij 

Like the red rosebud moist with morning dew !! 

Breathing delight ; and, under flowing jet, I; 

Or sunny ringlets, or of circling brown, ' 

The neck slight-shaded, and the swelling breast : 1590 ' 

The look resistless, piercing to the soul, 

And by the soul inform'd, when dresy'd in love 'j 

She sits high smiling in the conscious eye l| 

Island of bliss ! ainid the subject seas, 
That thunder round thy rocky coasts, set up, 1595 i 

At once the wonder, terror, and delight 
Of distant nations ; whose remotest shores 
Can soon be shaken by thy naval arm ; 
Not to be shooK tli3'self, but all assaults 
Baffling, as thy hoar clifts the loud sea-wave. 1600 

O thou ! by whose Almigiity nod the scale 
Of empire rises, or alternate falls. 
Send forth the saving Virtues round the land. 
In bright patrol : white Peace, and social Love ; 
The tender-looking Charity, intent 1605 

On gentle deeds, and shedding tears through smiles; 
Undaunted Truth, and dignity of mind ; 
Courage composed and keen ; sound Temperance. 
Healthful in heart and looks ; clear Chastity, 
With blushes reddening as she moves along, 1010 

Disorder'd at the deep regard she draws ; 
Rough Industry ; Activity untired. 
With copious life informed, and all awake . 
While in the radiant front, superior shines 
That first paternal virtue, Public Zeal, 161S 

Who throws o'er all an equal wide survey. 
And, ever musing on the commonweal, 
Still labours glorious with some great design. 

Low walks the sun, and broadens by degrees, 



SUMMER. 7!) 

fust o'er the verjre of day. The shifliiicr clouds 1620 
A-Sseinbled gay, a richly Qorgeous train, 
(n all their [jomp attend his setting throne. 
Air, earth, and ocean smile immense. And now, 
As if his weary chariot sought the bovvers 
Of Amphitrit6 and her tending nyinphs, Id'^ 

(So Grecian fable sung.) he dips his orb ; 
Now half-inunersed ; and now a golden curve 
Gives one bright glance, then total disappears. 

For ever running and enchanted round, 
Passes the day, deceitful, vain, and void ; ITitUi 

As fleets the vision o'er the forniful brain. 
This moment hurrying wild the' impassion'd soui, 
The ujxt in nothing lost. 'Tis so to hnn, 
The dreamer of this earth, an idle blank: 
A sigiit of horror to tne cruel w/etch, 1635 

Who all day long in sordid pleasure roll'd, 
Himself a useless load, has squander^ vile, 
Upon his scoundrel train, what might have cheer '*i 
A drooping family of modest v/orth. 
Dut to the generous still-improviag mind, UllO 

That gives the h(jpeless heart to sing for joy, 
Dill'using kind beneficence around, 
Boastless as now descends the silent dew; 
To him the long review of order 'd life 
Is inward rapture, only to be felt. 1645 

Confess'd from yonder slow-extinguished eio«ds, 
All ether softening, sober evening takes 
Her wonted station in the middle air ; 
A thousand shadows at her beck. First this 
She sends on earth ; then that of dee{>er dye 1650 

Steals soft behind ; and then a deeper si ill, 
In circle following circle, gathers round, 
To close the face of things. A fresher gale 
Begins to wave the wood, and stir the stream, 
Sweeping with shadowy gust the fields of corn , 1659 
While the quail clamours for his running mate. 
^Vide o'ei the thi.<tiy lawn, as sw3ils the breeze. 



so SUMMER. 

A whitening uhower of vegetable down 

Amusive floats. The kind impartial care 

Of Nature nought disdains : thoughtful to feed l6ft) 

Her lowest sons, and clothe the coming year, 

From field to field tho feathcr'd seed she wings. 

Hie folded flock secure, the shepherd home 
Hies merry-hearted : and by turns reheves 
The ruddy milkmaid of her brimming pail ; I6Gf 

The beauty whom perhaps his witless heart, 
Unknowing what the joy-mixd anguish means, 
Sincerely loves, by tliat best language shown 
Of cordial glan-^es and obliging deeds. 
Onward they pass, o'er many a panting height, 1670 
And valley sunk, and unfrequented ; where 
At lall of eve the fairy people throng, 
In various game, and revelry, to pass 
The summer night, as village stories tell. 
But far about they wander from the grave 1075 

Of him, whom his ungentle fortune urged 
Against his own sad breast to lift the hand 
Of impious violence. The lonely tower 
Is also shunn'd ; whose mournful chambers hold, 
So night-struck fancy dreams, the yelling ghost. \&60 

Among the crooked lanes, on every hedge, 
The glowworm lights his gem ; and through the dark 
A moving radiance twinkles Evening yields 
The world to Night ; not in her winter robe 
Of massy stygian woof, but loose a^ray'd 1685 

In mantle dun. A faint erroneous ray. 
Glanced from the' imperfect surfaces of things, 
Flings half an image on the straining eye ; 
While wavering woods, and villages, and streams, 
And rocks, and mountain tops, that long retain d 1690 
The' ascending gleam, are all one swimming scene, 
Uncertain if beheld. Sudden to heaven 
Thence weary vision turns ; where, leading soft 
The silent hours of lovo, with purest ray 
Swpot Venus .shines' and from her u-tMiial r\ye. \&'o 



SUMMER. 8] 

When daylight sickens till it sprinj^s afresh, 

Uiirival'd reigns, the fairest lainj) oi' Night. 

As thus the' eti'ulgence tremulous I drink, 

With cherishd gaze, the lambent lightnings sh^cil 

Across the sky, or horizontal dart ITHii 

In wondrous shapes: hy fearful murmuring crowds 

Portentous deem d. Amid the radiant orbs, 

1 hat more than deck, that animate the sky, 

The life-infusing suns of other worlds ; 

Lo ! from the dread immensity of space X'ido 

Returning, with accelerated course, 

The rushing comet to the sun descends ; 

And, as he sinks below the shading earth, 

With awful train projected o'er the heavens, 

The guilty nations tremble But, above 1710 

Those superstitious iiorrors that enslave 

The fond sequacious herd, to mystic faith 

And blind amazement prone, the' enlighten'd few 

Whose godlike minds Philosophy exalts, 

The glorious stranger hail. They feci a joy 171 'i 

Divinely great ; they in their powers exult. 

That wondrous force of thought, which mounting spurnTi 

This dusky spot, and measures all the sky ; 

While, from his far excursion through the wilds 

Of barren ether, faithful to his time, 1720 

They see the blazing wonder rise anew, 

In seeming terror clad, but kindly bent 

To work the will of all-sustaining Love ; 

From his huge vapoury train perhaps to shake 

Reviving moisture on the numerous orbs, 17^ 

Through which his long ellipsis winds ; perhaps 

To lend new fuel to dechning suns, 

To light ip worlds, and feed the' eternal fire. 

With thee, serene Philosophy, with thee, 
And thy bright garland, let me crown my song • 173C 
Effusive source of evidence and truth ! 
A lustre shedding o'er the' ennobled mind, 
Stronger than summer noon ; and pure as that, 



B2 SUMMER. 

Whose mild vibrations sooth the parted soul, 

New to <.he dawning of celestial day. 173*1 

Hence through her nourish 'd powers, enlarged by thee, 

She springs aloft with elevated pride ; 

Above the tangling mass of low desires, 

That bind the fluttering crowd ; and, angel-wing "d, 

The heights of science and of virtue gains, 17-10 

Where all is calm and clear ; with Nature round, 

Or in the starry regions, or the' abyss, 

To Reason's and to Fancy's eye display'd : 

The First up tracing, from the dreary void, 

The chain of causes and effects to Him, 1745 

The world-producing Essence, who alone 

Possesses being ; while the Last receives 

The whole magnificence of heaven and earth, 

And every beauty, delicate or bold. 

Obvious or more remote, with livelier sense, 1750 

Diffusive painted on the rapid mind. 

Tutor'd by thee, hence Poetry exalts 
Her voice to ages; and informs the page 
With music, image, sentiment, ami thought, 
Never to die ! the treasure of mankind ! 17r>n 

Their highest honour, and their truest joy ! 

Without thee what were unenlighten'd Man ' 
A savage roaming through the woods and wilds. 
In quest of prey : and with tlie' unfashion'd fur 
Rough clad ; devoid of every finer art 1760 

And elegance of life. Nor happiness 
Domestic, mix'd of tenderness and care, 
Nor moral excellence, nor social bliss, 
Nor guardian law were his ; nor various skill 
To turn the furrow, or to guide the tool 1761 

Mechanic ; nor the heaven-conducted prow 
Of navigation bold, that fearless braves 
The burning line or dares the wintry pole ; 
Mother severe of infinite delights ! 
Nothing, save rapine, indolence, and guile, 1770 

^nd woes on woes, a still revolvinir train ' 



SUMMER. 83 

iVhoBe horrid circle had made human life 
I'han nonexistence worse : but, taught by thee. 
Ours are the plans of policy and peace ; 
To live like brothers, and conjunctive all 1775 

Embellish life. While thus laborious crowds 
Ply the tougii oar, Philosophy directs 
The ruling helm ; or like the liberal breath 
Of potent heaven, invisible, the sail 
Swells out, and bears the' inferior world along. 1780 

Nor to this evanescent speck of earth 
Poorly confined, the radiant tracts on high 
Are her exalted range ; intent to gaze 
Creation through ; and, from tnal full complex 
Of never ending wonders, to conceive 17H;» 

Of tlie Sole Being right, who spoke the VVurd, 
And Nature moved complete. With inward view, 
Thence on the' ideal kingdom swift s\vi turns 
Her eye ; and instant, at her powerful glance, 
The' obedient phantoms vanish or appear; ITSH) 

Compound, divide, and into order shift, 
Each to his rank, from plain perception up 
To the fair forms of Fancy's fleeting train : 
To reason then, deducing truth from truth ; 
And notion quite abstract; where first begins t7:.«i> 
The world of spirits, action all, and life 
Unfetter'd and unmix'd. But here the cloud 
(So wills Eternal Providence) sits deep, 
Enough for us to know that this dark state, 
[n wayward passions lost and vain pursuits, l(S^iO 

This Infancy of Being cannot prove 
The final issue of the works of God, 
By boundless Love and perfect Wisdom foTm'd, 
(ind ever rising with the rising mind. 



AUTUMN. 



rh6 tubject propv.8«d. Addressed to Mr. Onslow. A pros^flct »;/ 
the tiekls ready for harvest. Reflections in praise of Im usiij 
raited by that view. Reaping. A tale relative to it. A luirvesl 
atoiui. Shooting and hunting, their b-.irbartty. A kdi'-,ro(if 
account of fox-hunting. A view of an orcliard. Wall-frui,. A 
vineyard. A deacription of fogs, fretjuent in tlie latter part id 
Autumn : whence a digression, imiuiring into the rise of foun- 
tains and rivers. Birds (vf season cons idoed, that now shift tlipjr 
hauitatiun. The prodi<rious nuniher of them that cover the 
northern and western isf s of Scotland. Hence a view of tlie 
tountry. A prospect of the discoloured, fading woods. Afier 
a gentle dusky day, moonlight. Autamnal meteors. Morning 
;o which succeeds a calm, pure, sunshiny day, such as usuaUy 
•huts lip the season. The harvest being gathered in, the coun- 
try dissolved in joy. The whole concludes with a panegyiic on 
a philosophical country life. 



Crown'd with the sickle and the wheaten sheal, 
While Autumn, nodding o'er the yellow plain, 
Comes jovial on ; the Doric reed once more, 
Well pleased, 1 tune. Whateer the wintry frost 
Nitrous prepared ; the various blossom'd Sprin;^ w 
Put in white promise forth ; and Summer suns 
Concocted strong, rush boundless now to view 
Full, perfect all, and swell my glorious theme 
Onslow ! the Muse, ambitious of thy name, 
To grace, inspire, and dignify her song. 10 

Would from the public voire thy gentle ear 
A while engage. Thy noble care she knows, 
The patriot virtues that distend thy tliought. 
Spread on thy front, and in thy bosom glow ; 
While listening senates hang upon thy toiigu**, 15 
Devolving through the maze of eloquence 
A roll of periods swe'^ter than her sotij. 
But she too pants for public virtue, she, 
Though weak of power, yet strong in ardent v.ill. 
Whene'er her country rushes on hf^r heart, <?;• 



AUTUMN. f% 

AssamcB a bolder note, and tondly IricL^ 
To mix the pati lot's with the puet's flame. 

VVhfi the eright \'irgin givts the lieauteous Jayi> 
And Libra weighs m equal wcales the year ; 
From heaven's high cope li)e i^erce elfulgence s|jit<<i; 
Of parting Summer, a serener blu£, *2fc 

With golden light enliven'd, wi-ie invests 
The happy world. Attemper'd s ms arise, 
Swcet-bcam'd, and shedding cfl through lucid clnuds 
A pleasing calm ; while broad, and brown, below M 
Extensive harvests haif the heavy head. 
Rich, silent, deep, they sta. J ; for not a gale 
Rolls its light billows o'er the benc'ing Mlain • 
A calm of plenty ! till the ruffled aif 
Falls from its poise, and gives the breeze to biow. jSo 
Rent is the fleecy mantle of the sky ; 
The clouds fly different ; and the swdden sun 
By fits eff*ulgent gilds the' illumiined field. 
And black by fits the shadows swee^-) along. 
A gaily chequer'd heart-expanding view, 4U 

Far as the circling eye can sLoot aA'ound, 
Unbounded tossing in a flood of corsi. 

These are thy blessings. Industry ! rough power 1 
Whom labour still attends, and sweat, and pain ; 
Yet the kind source of every gentltv art, 45 

And all the soft civility of life : 
Raiser of humankind ! by Nature east 
Naked, and helpless, out amid the woods 
And wilds, to rude inclement elements ; 
With various seeds of art deep iu the mind GO 

Implanted, and profusely pourd around 
Mr trials infin'te ; but idle all. 
Slii: unexerted, iu the' unconscious breast, 
Slept the lethargic powers ; Corruption still, 
Voracious, swallow'd whc *he liberal hand Ui 

Of bounty scatter'd o'er the savage yeai : 
And still the sad barbarian, roving, mi.x'd 
With beasts of prey ; or for his acorn-meal 
8 



86 AUTUMN. 

Fought the tierce tusky boar : a shivering wretch .. 
Aghast and comfortless, when tiie bleak north, OO 

With Winter charged, let tho mix'd tempest fly, 
Hail, rain, and enow, and bitter-breathing frost ; 
Then to the shelter of the hut he flsd ; 
And the wild season, sordid, pined away. 
For home he had not ; home is the resort Cl 

Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where, 
Supporting and supported, polish d friends 
And dear relations mingle into bliss. 
But tliis the rugged savage never felt. 
E'en desolate in crowds ; and thus his days 70 

Roll d heavy, dark, and unen joyd along : 
A waste of time ! till Industry approach d, 
And roused him from his miserable sloth ; 
His faculties unfolded ; pointed out 
Where lavish Nature the d.ifoting hand 75 

Of Art demanded ; show'd him how to raise 
His feeble force by the meclianic powers, 
To dig the mineral from the vaulted earth ; 
On what to turn the pier^^ing rage of fire ; 
On wiiat the torrent, and the gather'd blast ; 80 

Gave the tall ancient forest to his axe ; 
Taught him to chip the wood, and hew the stone 
Till by degrees the finish'd Hibric rose ; 
Tore from his limbs the blood- polluted fur, 
And wrapp'd them in the woolly vestment warm, 85 
Or bright in glossy silk and flowing lawn ; 
With wholesome viands filld his table ; pour'd 
The generous glass around, inspired to wake 
The life-refining soul of decent wit : 
^l^or stopp'd at ba.'ren bare necessity ; 90 

But still advancing bolder, lod him on 
To pomp, to pleasure, elegance, and grace ; 
And, breathing high ambition through his soul, 
Set science, wisdom, glorv- in his view, 
And bade him be the Lord of all below. 95 

Then gathering men their natural powers combined, 



AUTUMN. 87 

And form'd a Public . to the jreneral good 
Submitting, aiming, and condiicting all. 
For this the Patriot-Council met, the fuil, 
The free, and fairly represented Whole ; l(X) 

For this they plann'd the holy guardian laws, 
Distinguish'd orders, animated arts, 
And with joint force Oppression chaining, set 
Imperial Justice at the helm ; yet still 
To them accountable : nor, slavish, dream 'd 105 

That toiling millions must resign their weai, 
And all the honey of their search, to such 
As lor themselves alone themselves liave raised. 

Hence every form of cultivated life 
In order set, protected, and inspired, 110 

Into perfection wrought. Uniting all, 
Society grew numerous, high, polite, 
And happy. Nurse of art ! the city rear'd 
In beauteous pride her tower-encircled head ; 
And, stretching street on street, by thousands drew, 
From twining woody haunts, or the tough yew 116 
To bows strong-straining, her aspiring sons. 

Then commerce brought into the public walk 
The busy merchant ; the big warehouse built ; 
Raised the strong crane ; choked up the loaded street 
With foreign plenty ; and thy stream, O Thames, 121 
Large, gentle, deep, majestic, king of floods ! 
Chose for his grand resort On either hand, 
Like a long wintry forest, groves of masts 
Shot up their spires ; the bellying sheet between i'i5 
Posscss'd the breezy void : the sooty hulk 
Steer'd sluggish on ; the splendid barge along 
Row'd, regular, to harmony ; around. 
The boat, light-skimming, stretch'd its oary wings , 
While deep the various voice of fervent toil 130 

From bank to bank increased ; whence ribb'd with oak, 
To bear the British thunder, black and bold. 
The roaring vessel rush'd into the main. 

Then too the pillar'd dome, magnific heaved 



88 AUTUMN. 

Its ample roof; and Luxury within 135 

Hour'd out her glittering stores : the canvass smooth, 

With glowing life protuberant, to the view 

i!]mbodied rose ; the statue seem'd to breathe. 

And sot'ten into flesh, beneath the touch 

Of forming art, imagination flush'd. 110 

All is the gift of Industry ; whate'er 
Exalts, embellishes, and renders life 
Delightful. Pensive Winter cheer'd by him 
Sits at the social fire, and happy hears 
The' excluded tempest idly rave along ; 1 15 

His harden'd fingers deck the gaudy Spring ; 
Without him Summer were an arid waste ; 
Nor to the' Autumnal months could thus transmit 
Those full, mature, immeasurable stores, 
That, waving round, recal my wandering song. \5i) 

Soon as the morning tremble.s o'er the sky. 
And, unperceived, unfolds the spreading day ; 
Before the ripen'd field tha reapers stand. 
In fair array ; each by the lass he loves, 
To bear the rougher part, and mitigate iri5 

By nameless gentle offices her toil. 
At once they stoop and swell the lusty siieaves ; 
While through their cheerful band the rural talk, 
The rural scandal, and the rural jest, 
Fly harmless, to deceive the tedious time, 160 

And steal unfelt the sultry hours away. 
Behind the master walks, builds up the shocks ; 
And, conscious, glancing of^ on every side 
Flis sated eye, feels his heart heave witli joy. 
The gleaners spread around, and here and there, 1(5) 
Spike after spike, their scanty harvest pick. 
Be not too n&'row, husbandmen ! but lling 
From thfc full sheaf, wi^h charitable stealth. 
The liberable handful. Think, oh grateful think ! 
How good the God of Harvest is to you ; 170 

Who pours abundance o'er your flf)wi()g fields ; 
While these unhappy partners of your kind 



AUTUiMN. 89 

IVide-hover round you, like tlie fowls uf heaven, 
And ask their humble dole. The various turns 
Of fortune ponder ; that your sons may want 175 

What now, wi*h hard reluctance, faint ye give. 

The lovely young Lavinia once had friends ; j 

And Fortune smiled, deceitful, on her birth. 
For, in her helpless years deprived of all. 
Of every irtay, save Innocence and Heaven, 180 

•Sh*, wi*n her widow 'd mother, feeble, old, 
And poor, lived in a cottage, far retired 
ALictig the windings of a v/oody vale ; 
hy soiitude and deep surrounding shades, 
But more by bashful m'^fyity, conceald. 185 

Together thus they shun.i'd the cruel scorn 
Which virtue, sunk to poverty, would meet 
Vrom giddy passion and low-minded pride • 
Almost on Nature's comnu n bounty fed ; 
Like tiie gay birds that sui^g them to repose, 190 

Content, and careless of to-morrow's fare. 
Her form was fresher than the morning rose 
When the dew wets its leaves ; unstain'd and pure, 
As is the lily or the mountain-snow. 
The modest virtues mingled in her eyes, 195 

Still on the ground dejected, darting all 
Their humid beams into the blooming flowers • 
Or \ hen the mournful tale her mother told, 
Of what her faithless fortune promised once, 
Thriird in her thought, they, like the dewy star 200 
Of evening, shone in tears. A native grace 
Sat fair-proportion 'd on her polished limbs, 
Veil'd in a simple robe, their best a..tire, 
Beyond the pomp of dress ; for loveliness 
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament, 20f) 

But is, when unadorn'd, adorn'd the most. i 

Thoughtless of beauty, she was Beauty's self, i 

Recluse amid the close-embowering woods. 
As in the hollow breast of Apennine, 
^meath ihe shelter of encircling hills, 21^ 

8* 



90 AUTUMN. 

A myrtle rises, far from liuiiiini nye, 

And breathes its balmy fragrance oer the wild , 

So flourish'd blooming, and unseen by all, 

The sweet Lavinia ; till, at .ength, compeli d 

By strong Necessity's supreme command, 2\h 

With smiling patience in her looks, she went 

Ti> glean Palemon"s fields. The pride of swains 

Palemon was, the generous and the rich ; 

Who led the rural life in all its joy 

And elegance, such as Arcadian song 220 

Transmits from ancient uncorrupted times ; 

Wlien tyrant custom had not shackled man, 

Bat free to follow Nature was the mode. 

He then, his fancy with autumnal scenes 

Arnasing, chanced beside his reaper-train 22;« 

To walk, when poor Lavinia drew his eye ; 

Unconscious of her power, and turning quick 

With unaffected blushes from las gaze : 

He saw her charming, but he saw not half 

The charms her downcast modesty conceal'd. 230 

That very moment love and cliasle desire 

Sprung in his bosom, to himself unknown ; 

Fur still the world prevaiTd, and its dread laugh, 

Which scarce the firm philosupher can scorn, 

Should his heart own a gleaner in the field ; 23,i 

And thus in secret to his soul he sigh'd : — 

" What pity ! that so delicate a form. 
By beauty kindled, where enlivening sense 
And more than vulgar goodness seem to dwell, 
Siiould be devoted to the rude embrace 240 

Of some indecent clown; she looks, methinks. 
Of old Acasto's line ; and to my mind 
Rccals that patron of my happy life, 
From whom my liberal fortune took its rise ; 
Now to the dust gone down ; his houses, lands, 34S 
And once fair-spreading family, dissolved. 
Tis said, that In some lone obscure retreat, 
Vtged by remembrance sad, and decent pride 



AUTUMN. 91 

Far from thi.se scenes wJiich knew their better dayn, 
His ajrcd widow and his daughter live, '250 

Whom yet my fruitless search could never hnd 
Romantic wish ! would this the daughter were !" 

When, strict inquiring, from herself he found 
She was the same, the daughter of his friend, 
Of bountiful Acasto ; v.'ho can speak !^r»f- 

The mingled passions that surprised his heart, 
And through his nerves in shivering transport ran • 
Then blazed his smother'd flame, avow'd, and bold : 
And as he view'd her, ardent, o'er and oer, 
Love, gratitude, and pity wept at once. S'y 

Confuseo, and frighten 'd at his sudden tears, 
Her rising beauties flush'd a higher bloom, 
As thus Palemon, passionate and just, 
Pour'd out the pious rapture of his soul : 

" And art thou then Acasto's dear remains P iW>(i 
She, whom my restless gratitude has sought, 
So long in vain ? O heavens ! the very same, 
The soften'd image of my noble friend, 
Alive his every look, his every feature. 
More elegantly touch d. Sweeter than Spring ' 270 
Thou sole surviving blossom from the root 
That nounsh'd up my fortune ! say, ah where, 
[n what sequester'd desert, hast thou drawn 
The kindest aspect of delighted heaven ? 
Into such beauty spread, and blown so fair ; 275 

Though Poverty's cold wind and crushing rain 
Beit keen and heavy on thy tender years ? 
O, let me now into a richer soil 

Transplant thee safe ! where vernal suns and showei*' 
lifFuse their warmest, largest influence ; 280 

And of my garden be the pride and joy ! 
Ill it befits thee, oh, it ill befits 
Acasto's daughter, his, whose opei^ stores, 
Though vast, were little to his ampler heart, 
The father of a country, thus to pick 285 

Vhe very refuse of those harvest-fields 



f\2 AUTUMN 

Which from his bounicous friendship I enjoy. 

Then throw that shameful pittance from thy hand, 

But ill apply'd to such a rugged task ; 

1 he fields, the master, all, my fair, are thine : 21)0 

If to the various blessings which thy house 

Has on me lavish'd, thou wilt add that bliss, 

inat dearest bliss, the power cf blessing thee !" 

Here ceased the youth : yet still his speaking eye 
Express'd the sacred triumph of his soul, 21)5 

With conscious virtue, gratitude, and love, 
Above the vulgar joy divinely raised. 
Nor waited he reply. Won by the charm 
Of goodness irresistible, and all 

In sweet disorder lost, she blush "d consent. 300 

The news immediate to her mother brought, 
While, pierced with anxious thought, she pined away 
'J'lie lonely moments for Lavinia's fate : 
Amar^d, and scarce believing what she heard, 
Joy seized her withsr'd veine, and one bright gleam 
Of setting life shone on her evening hours : 306 

Not loss enraptured than the happy pair ; 
Who flourish'd long in tender biiss, and rear'd 
A numerous offspring, lovely like themselves, 
And good, the grace of all the country round. 310 

Defeating oft the labours of the year, 
The sultry south collects a potent blast. 
At first, the groves are scarcely seen to stir 
Their trembling tops ; and a still murmur runs 
Along the soft-inclining fields of corn. 315 

But as the aerial tempest fuller swells, 
And in one mighty stream, invisible. 
Immense, the whole excited atmosphere 
Impetuous rushes o'er the sounding world ; 
Strain'd to the root, the stooping forest pours 32C 

A rustling shower jf yet untimely leaves. 
High-beat, the circling mountains eddy in, 
From the bare wild, the dissipated storm, 
.\nd send it in a torrent down the vale. 



AUTUMN. 9S 

Exposed, and naked to its utmost rage, 32b 

Through all the sea of Irarvest rolling round, 
The billowy plain flonts wide ; nor can evade, 
Though pliant to the blast, its seizing force , 
Or whirl'd in air, or into vacant chaff 
Shook waste. And sometime.-: too a burst of rain 330 
Swept from the black horizon, broad, descends 
In one continuous flood. Still overhead 
The mingling tenipest weaves its gloom, and still 
The deluge deepens ; till the fields around 
Lie sunk and flatted in the sordid wave. 333 

Sudden, the ditches swell ; the meadows swim. 
Red, from the hills, innumerable streams 
Tumultuous roar ; and high above its banks 
The river lift ; before whose rushing tide, 
Herd.", flocks, and liarvests, c<jttages, and swains, 340 
Rcll mingled down ; all that the winds had spared 
In ono wild moment ruin'd ; the big hopes 
And well earn'd treasures of tho painful year. 
Fled to some eminence, the husbandman 
Helpless beholds the miserable wreck 34S 

Driving along ; his drowning ox at once 
L^uscending, with his labours scatter'd round, 
He sees ; and instan*. o'er his shivering thought 
t^omes Winter unprovided, and a train 
Of claimant children dear. Ye masters, then, 350 
8e mindful of the rough laborious hand 
r..at sinks you soft in elegance and ease j 
Se mindful of those limbs in russet clad, 
iVhose toil to yours is warmth and grateful prido , 
And, oh ! be mindful of that sparing board, C56 

Which covers yours with luxury profuse, 
/(lakes your glass sparkle, and" your sense rejoice ! 
Nor cruelly demand what the deep rains 
And all involving winds have swept away. 

Here the rude clamour of the sportsman's joy, 360 
The gun fast thundering, and the winded horn, 
Vould tempt he Muse to sing the rural game : 



94 AUTUMN. 

How in his mid career the spaniel strtick, 
Stiff, by the tainted gale, with open ni>se, 
Outstretch'd, and finely sensible, draws full, 3^ 

Fearful, &nd cautious, on the latent prey ; 
As in the sun the circling covey bask 
Their varied plumes, and, watchful every way, 
Through the rough stubble turn the secret eyo. 
Caught in the meshy snare, in vain they beat 370 

Their idle wings, entangled more and more : 
Nor on the surges of the boundless air, 
Though borne triumphant, are they safe ; the gun, 
Glanced just and sudden from the fowler's eye, 
O'ertakes their sounding pinions ; and again, 375 

Immediate, brings them, from tlie towering wing, 
Dead to the ground ; or drives them wide-dispersed, 
Wounded, and wheeling various, down the wind. 
These arc not subject:^ for the peaceful Muse, 
Nor will she stain v.'ith such her spotless song : 38lft 
Then most delighted, when she soc^ial sees 
The whole mix'd animal creation round 
Alive and happy. "Tis not joy to her. 
This falsely cheerful barbarous game of death, 
This rage of pleasure, which the rf^^iless youth 385 
Awakes, impatient, with the gleaming morn • 
When beasts of prey retire, that all night lonjr, 
Urged by necessity, had ranged the dark, 
As if their conscious ravage shunn'd the light. 
Ashamed. Not so the steady tyrant Man, 390 

Who, with the thoughtless insolence of power 
Inflamed, beyond the most infuriate wrath 
or the worst monster that e'er ro.xm'd the waste, 
For sport alone pursues the cruel chase, 
Amid the beamings of the gentle days. 385 

Upbraid, ye ravening tribes, our wanton rage, 
For hunger kindles you, and lawless want ; 
But lavish fed, in Nature's bounty roij u. 
To joy at anguish, and delight in blood, 
\a what your h')rria bosoms never knew 4WI 



AUTUMN. 95 

poor u the triumph o'er the timid hare ! 
Scared from the corn, and now to some lone seat 
Retired • the ru:jhy fen ; the ragged furze, 
Stretch'd o'er the stony heath ; the stubble chapt , 
Tlie thistly lawn ; tho thick entangled broom : 40ft 
Of the same friendly hue, the wither'd fern ; 
The fallow ground laid open to the sun, 
Concoctive ; and the nodding sandy bank, 
ll'ing o'er the mazes of the mountain brook. 
Vain is her best precaution ; though she sits 410 

Conceal'd, with folded oars ; unsleeping eyes, 
By Nature raised to take the' horizon in ; 
And head couch'd close betwixt her hairy feet, 
In act to spring away. The scented dew 
Betrays her early labyrinth ; and deep, 415 

in scatter'd sullen openings, far behind. 
With every breeze she hears the coming storm. 
But nearer, and more frequent, as it loads 
The sighing gale, she springs amazed, and all 
The savage soul of game is up at once : 420 

The pack full-opening, various ; the shrill horn, 
Resounded from the hills ; the neighing steed, 
Wild for the chase ; and the loud hunters shout ; 
O'er a weak, harmless, flying creature, all 
Mix'd in mad tumult and discordant joy. 425 

The stag, too, singled from the herd, where long 
He ranged the branching monarch of the shades, 
Before the tempest drives. At first, in speed 
He, sprightly, puts his faith ; and, roused by fear. 
Gives all his swift aerial soul to flight : 430 

Against the breezo he darts, that way the more 
To leave the lessening murderous cry behind . 
Deception short ! though fleeter than the winds 
Blown o'er the keen-air'd mountain by the north. 
He bursts the thickets, glances through the gladee, 43f 
And plunges deep into the wildest wood ; 
(f slow, yet sure, adhesiie to the track 
Hot-steaming, up behind him come again 



90 AUTUMiN. 

The inhuman ro\it, and from the shadv dopth 

Expel hna, circlinir throuirii his every shill, 14C 

He sweeps the forest oft ; and snbb'uor sees 

The g^lades, mild openiiig to the golden da}' ; 

Where, in kind contest, with his biiltintr friends 

Me wont to struggle, or his loves enjoy. 

Ofl in the full-descending flood he tries 445 

To lose the scent, and lave his burning sides : 

Oil seeks the herd ; the watchful herd, alarm d, 

With seliish care avoid a brother's woo 

What shall he do ? His once sc vivid nerves. 

So full of buoyant 3})irit, nf)w no more 4f»0 

Inspire the course ; but fainting breathless toil, 

Sick, seizes on his heart : he stands at baj' ; 

And puts his last weak ref>ige in despair. 

The big round tears run down hiS dappled face ; 

He groans in anguish : while the growlii.g^- pack, 45ri 

Blood-happy, hang at his fair jutting chest, 

And mark his beauteous checqner'd sides with gore. 

Of this enough. But if the silvan youth, 
Whose fervent blood boils into violence, 
Must have the chase ; behold, despising flight, 460 
The roused-up lion resolute and slow, 
Advancing full on the protended spear 
And coward-band, that circling wheel aloof. 
Slunk from the cavern and the troubled wood, 
See the grim wolf; on him his shaggy foe 465 

Vindictive fix, and let the ruffian die : 
Or, growling horrid, as the brindled boar 
Grins fell destruction, to the monster's heart 
Let the dart lighten from the nervous arm. 

These Britain knows not ; give, ye Britons, then 
Vour sportive fury, pitiless, to pour 47 I 

Loose on the nightly lobber of the fold ; 
Him, from his craggy winding haunts uncarth'd, 
Let all the thunder of the chase pursue 
Throw the broad ditch behind you ; o'er the hedge 
High-bound, resistless ; nor the deep morass 47t 



AUTUMxN. 9? 

Kefuse, but through the shaking wilderiKsss 
Pick your nice way ; into thn perilous Hood 
Bear fearless, of the raging instinct full ; 
And as you ride the torrent, to the banks 4dC 

Your triumph sound sonorous, running round 
From rock to rock, in circling echoes toss'd ; 
Then scale the mourttains to their \vof>dy tops ; 
[lush down the dangerous steep ; and oer the lawn, 
In fancy swallowing up the space between, 485 

I'our all your speed into the rapid game. 
For happy he I who tops the wheeling chase ; 
Has every maze evolved, and every guile 
Disclosed -, who knows the merits of the pack ; 
Who saw the villain seized, and dying hard, 490 

Without complaint, though by a hundred mouths 
Relentless torn : O glorious he, beyond 
His daring peers I when the retreating horn 
Calls them to ghostly halls of gray renown. 
With woodland honours graced ; the fox's fur, 495 
Depending decent from the roof; and spread 
Round the drear walls, with antic figures fierce, 
The stag's large front : he then is loudest heard. 
When the night staggers with severer toils, 
With feats Thessalian Centaurs never knew, 500 

And their repeated wonders shake the dome. 

But first the fueid chimney blazes wide ;. 
The tankards foam ; and the strong table groar.« 
Beneath the stnoking sirloin, stretch'd immearfe 
From side to side ; in which, with desperate knife, -^5 
They deep incision make, and talk the while 
Of F]ngland's glory, ne'er to be defaced 
While hence they borrow vigour • or amain 
Into the pasty plunged, at intervals, 
(f stomach keen can intervals allow, f>lf 

Relating all the glories of the chase. 
Then sated Hunger bids his brother Thirst 
t'roduce the mighty bowl ; the mighty bowl, 
Swell'd high with fiery juice, steams liberal rovind 
9 



98 AUTl'MiN. 

A potent gale, delicious as tlie rirciith 516 

Of Maia to the lovesick she])hen]ess, 

On violets ditrused, while soft she hears 

Her panting shepherd stealing to her arms. 

Nor wanting is tlie brown October, drawn, 

Mature and perfect, from his dark retreat f)98 

Of thirty years ; and now his honest front 

Flames in the light reftilirent, not afraid 

E'en with the vineyard's best produce to vie. 

To cheat the thirsty moments, VVliist awhile 

Walks his dull round, beneath a cloud of smrike, -V^t) 

Wreathed, fragrant, from the pipe ; or the (juicl; dice, 

In thunder leaping from the box, awake 

The sounding gammon : while romp-loving miss 

Is haul'd about in gallantry robust. 

At last these puling idlenesses laid 53fi 

Aside, frequent and full, the dry divan 
Close in firm circle ; and set, ardent, in 
For serious drinking. Nor evasion sly 
Nor sober shift is to the puking wretch 
Indulged apart ; but earnest, brimming bowls 535 

Lave every soul, the table floating rcmnd, 
And pavement, faithless to the fuddled foot. 
Thus as they swim in mutual swill, the talk, 
Vociferous at once from twenty tongues, 
Reels fast f^om theme to theme ; from horses, hounds. 
To church or mistress, politics or ghost, 5H 

In endless mazes, intricate, poi^)lex'd. 
Meantime, with sudden interruption, loud, 
The' impatient catch bursts from the joyous heart ; 
That moment touch'd is every kindred soul ; 545 

And, opening in a full-mouth'd cry of joy, 
The laugh, the slap, the jocund curse go round ; 
While, from their slumbers shook, the kennel'd hounds 
Mix in the music of the day again. 
As when tlio tempest, that has vex'd the deep 55W 

The dark night long, with fainter murmurs falls ; 
So gradual sinks their mirth. Thpir feeble tononies 



AUTLMN 99 

Unable to take tip the f.iimbrous word, 
Lie quite dissolvtid. Before their maudlin eyes 
Seen dim and bhie, the double tapers dance r>55 

Like the sun wadinu throviirh the misty sk^-. 
Then, sliding soft, they drop. Coiifusf.d abova, 
Glasses and bottles, pipes and gazetteers, 
As if the table e'en itself was drunk, 
Lie a wet broken scene ; and wide, below, HCX] 

Is heap'd the social slaughter : where astride 
The lubberj^ower in filthy triumph sits, 
Slumberous, inclining still from side to side, 
And steeps them drench 'd in potent slecip till morn 
Perhaps some doctor, of tremendous paunch, 5(lu 

Awfal and deep, a black abyss of drink, 
Outlives them all ; and from his buried flock 
Retiring, full of rumination sad, 
Laments the weakness of these latter times. 

But if the rougher sex by this fierce sport 570 

Is hurried wild, let not such horrid joy 
E'er stain the bosom of the British Fair. 
Far be the spirit of the chase from them ! 
Uncomely courage, unbeseeming skill ; 
To spring the fence, to rein the prancing steed , 575 
The cap, the whip, the masculine attire ; 
In which they roughen to the sense, and all 
The winning softness of Jieir sex is lost. 
In them 'tis graceful to dissolve at woe ; 
With every motion, every word, to wave 5^ 

Quick e'er the kindling cheek the ready blush , 
And from the smallest violence to shiink 
Unequal, then the loveliest in their fears ; 
\.nd by this silent adulation, soft. 

To their protection more engaging Man. 58fi 

O may their eyes no miserable sight, 
Save weeping lovers see ! a nobler game. 
Through love's enchanting wiles pursued, yet fled, 
In chase air^^iguous. May their tender limbs 
Float in the loose simplicity of dross ' nfffi 



100 AUTUMN. 

And, fashion cl all to harmony, alone 

Know they to seize the captivated soul, 

In rapture warbled tVoni love-breathing lips , 

To teach the lute to lanafuish ; with smooth stop, 

Disclosing motion in its every charm, 596 

To swim along, and swell the mazy dance ; 

To train the foliage o'er the snowy lawn ; 

To guide the pencil, turn the tuneful page ; 

To lend new flavour to the fruitful j'ear, 

And heignten Nature's dainties: in their race 600 

To rear their graces into second life ; 

To give society its highest taste ; 

Well ordcr'd home mans best delight to make ; 

And by submissive wisdom, modest skill, 

With every gentle care-eluding art, fi05 

To raise the virtues, animate the bliss, 

And 8%veeten all the toils of human life • 

This be the female dignity and praise. 

Ye swains, now hasten to the hazel-bank ; 
Where, down yon dale, the wildly winding brook 610 
Falls hoarse from steep to steep. In close array, 
Fit for the thickets and the tanglinor shrub. 
Ye virgins, come. For you their latest song 
The woodlands raise ; the clustering nuts for yoii 
The lover finds amid the secret shade ; 615 

And, where they burnish on vhe topmi>st bough, 
With active vigour crushes down the tree ; 
Or shakes them ripe from the resigning husk, 
A glossy shower, and of an ardent brown. 
As are the ringlets of Melinda's hair : 62<J 

Melinda ! form'd with every grace complete. 
Vet these neglecting, above beauty wise, 
And far transcending such a vulgar praise. 

Hence from the busy joy-resoundii.g fields, 
In cheerful error, let us tread the maze G8S 

Of Autumn unconfined ; and taste, revived, 
The breath of orchard big with bending fruit. 
Obedient to the breeze and beating ray, 



AUTUMN. lOi 

From the deep-loaJed boujrh a imillow sltower 
Incessant melts away. Tlie juicy pear (1.^0 

Lies in a soft profusion scattor'cl round. 
A various sweetness swells the gentle rare ; 
By Nature's all refininif hand prenarod ; 
Of temper'd sun, and water, earth, and air, 
In ever changing composition mi.x'd. Cla 

Such, falling frequent through the chiller niglit, 
The fragrant stores, tlie wide-|)r«ijecte(i hea[)S 
Of apples, which the lusty-handed Year, 
Innumerous, o'er the blushing orchard shakes. 
A various spirit, fresh, delicious, keen. 040 

Dwells in their gelid pores ; and, active, points 
The piercing cider for the thirsty tonL'ue : 
Thy native theme, and bo(»n inspirer too. 
Philips, Pomona's bard, the secf)nd ihon 
Who nobly durst, in rhyme-unfetter d verse, i'Ai 

With British freedom sing the British song : 
How, from Silurian vats, high-sparkling wines 
Foam in transparent floods ; some strong, to ch''er 
The wintry revels of the labouring hind ; 
And tasteful some, to cool the sumiiior hours. i'l'A) 

In this glad season, while his sweetost 'leams 
The sun sheds equal o'er the meeken'd day ; 
Oh, lose me in the green delightful walks 
Of, Doddington, thy seat, serene and plain , 
Where simple Nature reigns ; and every view, G.')0 
Diffusive, spreads the pure Dorsetian downs. 
In boundless prospect ; yonder shaggd with w-k..], 
Here rich with harvest, and there white with tlocks 
Meantime the grandeur of thy lofty dome, 
Far splendid, seizes on the ravish 'd eye. (JGO 

New beauties rise with each revolving day ; 
New columns swell ; and still the fresh Spring timls 
New plants to quicken, and new groves to gre n, 
Full of thy genius all ! the Muses" seat ; 
Where, in the secret bower and winding walk, 003 
Sot virtuous Young and thee they twine the bxy. 
9* 



.02 AUTUMN. 

Here wandering oft, fired with the restless thirst 

or thy applause, 1 solitary court 

'I'he' inspiring breeze : and meditate the book 

Of Nature ever open ; aiming thence, 67C 

Warm from the heart, to learn the moral song. 

Here, as I steal along the sunny wall 

Where Autumn basks, with fruit empurpled deep, 

My pleasing theme continual prompts my thougJit : 

Presents the downy peach ; the shining plum ; 075 

The ruddy, fragrant nectarine ; and dark, 

Beneath his ample leaf, the luscious fig. 

The vine too here her curling tendrils shoots ; 

Hangs out her clusters, glowing to the south ; 

And scarcely wishes for a warmer sky. 680 

Turn we a moment Fancy's rapid flicrht 
To vigorous s.oils and climes of fair extent ; 
Where, by the potent sun elated high, 
The vineyard swells refulgent on the day ; 
Spreads o'er the vale ; or up the mountain climbs, 6bt 
Profuse ; and drinks amid the sunny rocks, 
From cliff to cliff increased, the heighten'd blaze. 
Low bend the weighty boughs. The clusters clear, 
Half through the foliage seen, or ardent flame. 
Or shine transparent ; while perfection breathes Gi)0 
White o'er the turgent film tlie living dew. 
As thus they brighten with exalted juice, 
Touch'd into flavour by the mingling ray ; 
Tiie ruial youth and virgins o'er the field. 
Each fond for each to cull the' autumnal prime, 695 
Exulting rove, and speak the vintage nigh. 
Then comes the crushing swain; the country li ats, 
A.nd foams unbounded with the mashy flood , 
That, by degrees fermented and refined, 
Round the raised nations poursthe cup of jcy : 70C 
The claret smooth, red as the lip we press 'j 

In sparkling fancy, while we drain the bowl ; ji 

The mellow-tasted burgundy ; and, quick 
A.S is the wit it gives, the gay champagne. 



AUTUiVlN. 103 

Now, by the cnnl der.liuinij year cotulcnstd, 7(k'» 
Descend tlie copious exhalations, ciicck'd 
As up the middle sky unseen they stole, 
And roll the douhlinor fo^s around the hill 
No more the inounlaiu, honid, vast, suhliine. 
Who pours a sweep of rivers from his sides, 710 

And high between contending kingdoms rears 
The rocky long division, fills the view • 

With great variety ; but in a night 
Of gatliering vapour, from the baffled sense 
Siaks dark and dreary. Thence expanding far, 71.'» 
The huge dusk, gradual, swallows up tlie plain 
Vanish the woods : the dim-seen river seems 
Sullen, and slow, to roH the misty wave. 
E'en in the height of noon ojjpress'd, the sun 
Sheds weak and blunt his wide-refracted ray ; TJf* 
Whence glaring ofl, with many a broaden 'd orb, 
He frights the nations. Indistinct on earth, 
Seen through the turbid air, beyond the life 
Objects appear ; and, wilder "d, o'er the waste 
The shepiierd stalks gigantic. Till at last 72i» 

Wreathed dun arour.d, in deeper circles still 
Successive closing, sits the general fog 
Unbounded o'er the world ; and, mingling thick, 
A formless gray confusion covers all. 
As when of old (so sung the Hebrew Bard) 7,P) 

Light, uncollected, through the chaos urged 
Its infant way ; nor Order yet had drav/n 
His lovely train from out the dubious gloom. 

These roving mists, that constant now be^'o 
To smoke along the hilly country, thesr, 335 

With weighty rains, and melted Alpine snows, 
The mountain cisterns fill, those ample stores 
Of water, scoop'd among the hollow rocks; 
Whence gush the streams, the ceaseless fountains play 
And their unfailing wealth the rivers draw. 74/? 

Some sages say, that, where the numerous wave 
^or ever lashes the resoiuidisig sijor<^. 



104 AUTUM.N 

Drill'd through the sandy stratum, every way, 

The waters with the sandy sti-atuni rise ; 

Amid whose angles infinitely strain'd, 746 

They joyful leave their jaggy salts behind, 

And clear and sweeten as they soak along. 

Nor stops the restless fluid, mounting still, 

Though oft amidst the' irriguous vale it springs ; 

But to the mountain courted by the sand, 750 

That leads it darkling on in faithful maze. 

Far from the parent main, it boils again 

Fresh into day ; and all the glittering hill 

Is bright with spouimg rills. But hence this vain 

Amusive dream ! why should the waters love 755 

To take so far a journey to the hills. 

When the sweet valleys offer to their toil 

Inviting quiet and a nearer bed ? 

Or if, by blind ambition led astray, 

They must aspire ; why should they sudden stop 7W 

Among the broken mountain's rushy dells, 

And, ere they gain its highest peak, desert 

The' attractive sand that charm'd their course so long ? 

Besides, the hard agglomerating salts. 

The spoil of ages, would impervious choke 7tJo 

Their secret channels ; or, by slow degrees, 

High as the hills protrude the swelling vales : 

Old Ocean too, suck'd through the porous globe, 

Had long ere now forsook his horrid bed, 

And brought Deucalion's watery times again. 770 

Say then, where lurk the vast eternal springs, 
That, like creating Nature lie conceal'd 
From mortal eye, yet with their lavish stores 
Refresh the globe and all its joyous tribes ! 
O thou pervading Genius, given to man, 775 

To trace the secrets of the dark abyss, 
O, lay the mountains bare ! and wide display 
Their hidden structure to the' astonish'd view * 
Strip from the branchi ng Alps their piny lead r 
The huge incumbrance of horrific woods 78P 



AUTUMN. ina 

From Asian Taurus, from Imaiis slrotch'H 

Aihvvart the rovina Tartar's sullen bounds! 

Gi\e opv'.ning" Hemus to my searching eye, 

And high Olympus pouring many a stream ' 

O, from the sounding summits of tho «u>rlh, ?85 

The Dorfrine hills, through Scandinavia roTii 

To farthest Lapland and the frozen main ; 

From lofly Caucasus far seen by those 

Who in the Caspian and black Euxine toil ; 

F'om cold Riphean rocks, which the wild Russ *.'0 

Believes the stony girdle* of the world : 

And all the dreadful mountains, wrapp'd in storm, 

Whence wide Siberia draws her lonely "floods ; 

O, sweep the' eternal snows ' Hung o'er the deep. 

That ever w^orks beneath his sounding base, 7U6 

Bid Atlas, propping Heaven, as poets feign, 

His subterranean wonders spread ! unveil 

The miny caverns, blazing on the day, 

Of Abyssinia's cloud-compelling cliffs, 

And of the bending Mountainst of the Moon ! 800 

O'ertopping all these giant sons of earth, 

Let the dire Andes, from the radiant line 

Stretch'd to the stormy seas that thunder round 

The southern pole, their hideous deeps unfold I 

Amazing scene ! behold ! the glooms disclose, 805 

I see the rivers in their infant beds ! 

Deep, deep I hear them labouring to get free , 

I see the leaning strata, artful ranged ; 

The gaping fissures to receive the rains, 

The melting snows, and ever dripping fogs. 8 1 6 

Strow'd bibulous above I see the sands, 

The pebbly gravel next, the layers then 

Of mingled moulds, of more retentive earths, 

The gutter'd rocks and mazy-running clefts , 

* The Muscovites call the Riphean Mountains WeUki Ca 
menijpoijs ; that is, the great stony Girdle : because they mp- 
pose them to encompass the whole earth. 

t A range of mountahis in Africa, tl)?.t surnmnd almost aB 
%lonomot;ipa. 



106 AUTUMN. 

That, while tho stealing moisture they transmit, 816 

Retard its motion ami forbid its waste. 

Beneath the' incessant weeping of these drains, 

I see the rocky siphons stretch'd immense, 

Tho mighty reservoirs, of hardcn'd chalk, 

Or still' compacted clay, capacious foru\"d 820 

Oerllowing thence, tlie congregated stores. 

The crystal treasures of the liquid world. 

Through the stirr'd sands a bubbling passage hursil , 

And, welling out, around the middle stecj), 

Or from the bottoms of the bosom'd liills, 825 

In pure etfusion flow. United, thus, 

The' exhaling sun, tlie vapour-burden'd air, 

The gelid mountains, that to rain condensed 

These vapours in continual current draw. 

And send them, o'er the fair-divided earth, 830 

In bounteous rivers to the deep again, 

A social commerce hold, and firm support 

The full adjusted harmony of things. 

When Autumn scatters his departing gleams, 
VVarn'd ot approaching Winter, gather d, play 835 
The swallow-people ; and, toss'd wide around, 
O'er the calm sky, in convolution swift, 
The feather 'd eddy floats : rejoicing once, 
Ere to their wintry slumbers they retire ; 
In chisters clung, beneath the mouldering bank, 840 
And where, unpicrced by frost, the cavern swaats. 
Or rather into warmer climes convey'd. 
With other kindred birds of season, there 
I'hey twitter cheerful, till the vernal months 
Invite them welcome back : for, thronging, now 645 
Innunjerous wings are in commotion all. 

Where the Rhine loses his majestic force 
In Belgian plains, won from the raging deep, 
By diligence amazing and the strong 
Unconquerable hand of Liberty ; 856 

The stork-assembly meets ; for many a day, 
Consulting deep, and various, ere they take 



AUTUMN. lOJ 

Their arduous vcyaje through the liquid sky. 
And now their route designd, tlieir leaders chose, 
Tiieir tribes adjusted, cieand their vigorous wings , 
And many a circle, many a short essay, bi't^ 

Wheel'd round and round, in congregation full 
The figured flight ascends ; and, riding high 
The' aerial billows, mixes with the clouds. 

Or where the Northern ocean, in vast whirls, ^^ifl 
Boils round the naked melancholy isles 
Of furthest Thule, and tlie" Atlantic surge 
Pours in among the stormy Hebrides ; 
Who can recount what transmigratiotjs there 
Are annual made ' what nations come and i^o ' HG& 
And how tlje living clouds on clouds arise r 
Infinite wings ! till all tlie plume-dark air, 
And rude resounding shore are one wild cry. 

Here the plain harmless native his small tloj.k, 
And herd diminutive of many hues, ^**' 

Tends on the little island's verdant swell. 
The shepherd's seagirt reign ; or, to the ro<;ks 
Dire-clinging, gathers his ovarious fo<jd ; 
Or sweeps the fishy shore ! or treasures up 
The plumage, rising full, to form the Ited Ci75 

Of luxury. And here awhile the muse, 
High hovering o'er the broad cerulean scene, 
Sees Caledonia, in romantic view : 
Her airy mountains, from the waving mam, 
Invested with a keen diffusive sky, Sb( 

Breathing the soul acute ; her forests huge, 
Incult, robust, and tall, by Nature's hand 
Planted of old ; her azure lakes between, 
Pour'd out extensive, and of watery wealth 
Full ; winding deep, and green, her fertile vales ; 88? 
With many a cool translucent brimming flood 
Wash'd lovely, from the Tweed (pure parent stream 
IVhose pastoral banks first heard my Doric reed, 
With, silvan Jed, thy tributary brook) 
To where the north-inflated tempest fonms 8* 



108 AUTUMN. 

Oer Orca's or Betuhinins highest poak . 
?iurse of a people, in iMisfortime s school 
Traind up to hardy deeds ; soon visited 
By Learning, when before the oothit- rago 
She took her western flight. A manly race Si^ 

Of unsubmitting spirit, wise, and br.tve ; 
Who still through bleetiing ages struggled hard, 
(As well unhappy Wallace can attest, 
Great patriot hero! ill requited chief ! < 
To hold a crenerous undiuiinishd slate ; \^^t 

Too nnich in vain ' Hence of une<pial houn !s 
nipatient, and by tempting gli>ry borne 
D'er every ku>ti, tor every laml their life 
Has flow'd profuse, their piercing genius plann'd, 
\nd swelld the pomp of peace their faithi'ul toil. ?>♦>;> 
As fron\ their own clear north, in radiant streauis, 
Briorht over Europe bursts the boreal morn. 

Oh I is there not s^iuic patriot, in whos<^ jH>wer 
That best, that godlike luxury is pkiced, 
Of blessing thousands, thousands yet unborn, VW 

Through late posterity .' some, large of soul, 
To cheer dejected industry.'' to give 
A double harvest to the pining swain r 
And teach the labouring hand the sweets of loil r 
How. by the finest art. the native robe *Mb 

To weave ; how, white as hyperlmrean snow. 
To form the lucid lawn ; with venturous oar 
How to dash wide the billow : nor look on. 
Shamefully passive, while Batavian tweets 
Defraud us of the iilittering finny swarms, :>?0 

That heave our friths and crowd Ufvm our sliores , 
How all enlivening trade to rouse, and wing 
The prosperous sail, from every growing port, 
Uniijured. round the sea-encircled globe ; 
And thus, in soul united as in name, !^ 

Bid Britai»i reign the mistress of the deep.' 

Yes. there are such And full on thee. Argyll 
Her hope, her star, her darling, and her boast. 



AUTUMN. 109 

From her first patriots and her lierocs sprung, 
Thy fond imploring country turns her eye ; 930 

In thee, with all a mother's triumph, sees 
Her every virtue, every grace combined, 
Her genius, wisdom, her engaging turn, 
Her pride of honour, and lier courage tried, 
Cahn, and intrepid, in the very tlir<»at 93Ji 

Of sulphurous war, on Tenier's dreadful field. 
Nor less the palm of peace inwreathes thy brow . 
For, powerful as thy sv/ord, from tliy rich tongue 
Persuasion flows, and wins the high debate ; 
While raix'd in thee combine the charm of youth, 940 
The force of manhood, and the depth of age. 
Thee, Forbes, too, whom every worth attends, 
As truth sincere, as weeping friendship kind. 
Thee, truly generous, and in silence great, 
Thy country feels through her revivmg arts, 94f> 

Plann'd by thy wisdom, by thy soul inforin'd ; 
And seldom has she known a friend likethc-e. 

But see the fading many colour'd woods, 
Shade deepening over shade, the country round 
Imbrown ; a crowded umbrage, dusk, and dun, Oo<J 
Of every hue, frcm wan declining green 
To Booty dark. These now the lonesome Muse, 
Low whispering, lead into their leaf-strown walks, 
Ard give the Season in its latest view. 

Meantime, light-shadowing all, a sober calm 95f. 
Fleeces unbounded ether : whose least wave 
Stands tremulous, uncertain where to turn 
The gentle current : while illumined wid«\, 
The dewy-skirted clouds imbibe the sun, 
And through their lucid veil his soflen'd force JV.ii'' 
Shed o'er the peaceful world. Then is the time. 
For those whom Wisdom and whom Nature charm, 
To steal themselves from the degenerate crowd. 
And soar above this little scene of things : 
To tread low-thoughted Vice beneath their feet : OCfi 
10 



1 



no AUTUMN. 

To sooth the throbbing passit^ns into peace ; 

And woo lone Quiet in her silent walks. 

Thus solitary, and in pcns^ive guise, 
Ot\ let me wander o"er the russet mead, 
And through the sadden'd grove, where scarce is heart! 
One dying strain, to cheer the woodman's toil. 1)71 
Haply some widow'd songstiT pours his plaint, 
Far. in faint warblings, through the tawny copse • 
While congregated thrushrs. linnets, larks. 
And each wild throat, wIk^so artless strains so late 
Swell'd all the music of the swarming shades, 1)76 
Robb'd of their tuneful souls, ijow shivering sit 
On the dead tree, a dull despondeni flociv ; 
Willi not a brightness waving o'er their plumes, 
\nd nought save chattering discord in their note. 98C' 
O, let not. aim'd from some inhuman eye, 
The gun the music of the coining year 
Destroy ; and h.armless. unsuspectinff harm, 
Lay the weak tribes a misornhle prey, 
In mingled nuuder, fluttering on the ground ! 986 

The pale -descending year, yet pleasing still, 
A gentler mood inspires ; for now the leaf 
Incessant rustles from the mournful grove ; 
Oft startling such as, studious, walk below. 
And slowly circles througli the waving air. 990 

But should a quicker breeze amid the boughs 
Sob, o'er the sky the leafy deluge streams ; 
Till, choked and matted witii the dreary shower, 
The forest-walks, at every rising gale, 
Roll wide the wither'd waste, and whistle bleak. 99K 
Fled is the blasted verdure of the fields ; 
And, shrunk into their beds, the flowery race 
Their sunny robes resign. E'en what remain'd 
Of etronger fruits falls from the naked tree ; 
And woods, fields, gardens. (Orchards, all around 1001 
The desolated prospect thrills the soul. 

He comes ! he comes I in every breeze the Power 



AUTUMN II. 

Of pliilosophic Mplanoholy rcitnci? 
His near approach the siiddcn-starlinir tear, 
Tljo glowing cheek, the ntild dejected air, 1005 

The soften'd feature, and the l)oating heart, 
Pierced deep with many a virtuoas pang, declare. 
O'er all the soul his sacred influence brealh«!S . 
Inflames imagination ; through the breast 
Infuses every tenderness ; and far 1010 

Beyond dim earth exalts the swelling thought 
Ten thousand thousand fleet idea?., such 
As never mingled with the vulgar dream, 
Crowd fast into the mind's creative eye. 
As fast the correspondent passions rise, 1015 

As varied, and as high : Devotion raised 
To rapture and divine astonishment ; 
The love of Nature, unconfmed, and, chief, 
Of human race ; the large ambitious wish, 
To make them bless'd ; the sigh for suffering worth 
Lost in obscurity ; the noble scorn 1021 

Of tyrant pride ; the fearless great resolve ; 
The wonder which the dying patriot draws, 
Inspiring glory through remotest time ; 
The' awaken'd throb for virtue and for fame ; 102;' 
The sympathies of love and friendship dear • 
With all the social offspring of the heart. 

Oh ! bear me then to vast embowering shades, 
To twilight groves, and visionary vales ; 
To weeping grottoes, and prophetic glooms; I'XW 

Where angel forms athwart the solemn dusk 
Tremendous sweep, or seem to sweep along ; 
And voices more than human, through the void 
Deep sounding, seize the' enthusiastic ear ! 

Or is this gloom too much .' Then lead, ye powers 
That o'er the garden and the rural seat lO'M 

Preside, which shining through the cheerful land 
In countless numbers bless'd Britannia sees ; 
O, eajd me to ^he wide extended wallcs, 



112 AUTUMN. 

The fair inajeutic paradise of Stowe !* 1344 

Not Persian Cyrus on Ionia's shore 
E'er saw such silvan scenes ; such varKUjs ail 
By genius fired, such ardent genius tamei' 
By cool judicious art ; that, in the strifr 
All-beauteous Nature fears to be undone 1045 

And there, O Pitt, thy country s early boast, 
There let me sit beneath the shelter d slopes, 
Or in that Templel where, in future tnues, 
Thou well shalt merit a distinguish'd name ; 
And, with thy converse blessd, catch the last sinilca 
Of Autumn beaming o'er the yellow woods. 105' 

While there with thee the' enchanted round 1 walk. 
The regulated wild, gay Fancy then 
Will tread in thought the groves of attic laud : 
Will from thy standard taste refine her own, IOr>i> 

Correct her pencil to the purest truth 
Of Nature, or, the unimpassiond shades 
Forsaking, raise it to the human mind. 
Or if hereafter she, with justcr hand. 
Shall draw the tragic scene, instruct her, thou, 1060 
To mark the varied movements of the heart. 
What every decent character requires, 
And every passion speaks : O, through her strain 
Breathe thy pathetic eloquence ' that moulds 
The' attentive senate, charms, persuades, exalts, 10t>5 
Of honest Zeal the' indignant lightning throws. 
And shakes Corruption on her venal tJirone. 
While thus we talk, and through Elysian vales 
Delighted rove, perhaps a sigh escapes 
What pity, Cobham, thou thy verdant files I07</ 

Of order'd trees shouldst here inglorious range. 
Instead of squadrons flaming o'er the field. 
And long embattled hosts ! when the j)roud fo«, 
The faithless vain disturber of mankind, 
* The seat of Lord Conliani. 
t The Temple of Virtue in Slowe (lardeas 



AUTUMN. 113 

Insulting Gaul, has roused the world to war ; 1075 
When keen, once more, within their bounds to presff 
Those polish'd robbers, those ambitious slaves. 
The British youth would hail thy wise command. 
Thy temper'd ardour, and thy veteran skill. 

The western sun withdraws the shorten'd day ; 
And humid Kvening, glidinir o'er the sky, 1081 

Id her chill progress, to the ground condensed 
'I'he vapours throws. Where creeping waters ooze, 
Where marshes stagnate, and where rivers wind. 
Cluster the rolling fogs, and swim along 108* 

The dusky mantled lawn. Meanwhile the Moon 
Full-orb'd, and breaking through the scatter'd clouds, 
Shows her broad visage in the crimson east. 
Turn'd to the sun direct, her spotted disk, 
Where mountains rise, umbrageous dales descend, 
And caverns deep, as optic tube descries, 1001 

A smaller earth, gives us his blaze again, ! 

Void of its flame, and sheds a softer day. i 

Now through the passmg cloud she seems to stoop, | 

Now up the pure cerulean rides sublime. 109S i 

Wide the pale deluge floats, and streaming mild I 

U er the skied mountain to the shadowy vale. 
While rocks and floods reflect the quivering gleam, i 

The whole air whitens with a boundless tide 
Of silver radiance, trembling round the world. llOl) j 

But when, half blotted from the sky, her light, I 

Fainting, permits the starry fires to burn { 

With keener lustre through the depth of heaven ; 
Or near extinct her deadend orb appears. 
And scarce appears, of sickly beamless white; 1105 
Oft in this seaion, silent from the north 
A blaze of meteors shoots ; ensweeping first 
The lower skies, they all at once converge 
High to the crown of heaven, and all at once 
Relapsing quick, as quickly reascend, 1119 

\nd mix and thwart, extinguish and renew, 
Vll ether coursing in a maze of light 
10* 



114 AUTl'.MN 

From \oiik to look, contaoious through tho crow<i. 
The panic runo, and into woiKhous shapes 
The' appearance throws: ariiiics in meet arra^', 1113 
Throng d with aerial spears and steeds of" fire, 
Till the long lines of full extended war 
Ir. bleeding fight commix'd, the sanguine flood 
Rolls a broad slaughter o'er tlie plains of heaven. 
As thus they scan the visionary scene, 1120 

On all sides swells the superstitious din, 
Incontinent ; and busy frenzy talks 
Of blood and battle; citiesovcrturn'd, 
And late at night in swallowing earthquake sunk, 
Or hideous wrapp'd in fierce ascending flame , iiUfi 
Of sallow famine, inundation, stnrm : 
Of pestilence, and every great distress; 
Rmpires subversed, when ruling fate has struct 
The' unalterable hour : e'en Nature's self 
Is deem'd to totter on the brink of time. 1130 

Not so the man of philosophic eye, 
And inspect sage ; the waviiii: iiriohtness he 
Curious surveys, inquisitive to knov/ 
The causes and materials, yet unfix'd, 
Of this appearance beautiful ajid new. il35 

Now black and deep the ni<^!if begins to fall, 
A shade immense. Sunk in the quenching giooin. 
Magnificent and vast, are heaven and earth. 
Order confounded lies ;• all beauty void ; 
Distinction lost ; and gay variety 1140 

One universal blot : such the fair power 
Of light, to kindle and create the whole. 
Drear is the state of the benighted wretch. 
Who then, bewilder 'd, wanders through the dark, 
Full of pale fancies and chimeras huge ; 1145 

Nor visited by one directive ray, 
Fram cottage streaming or from airy hall. 
Perhaps impatient as he stumbles on, 
Struck fiom the root of slimy rushes, blue, 
The wildrirc scatters round, or gather'd trails MM 



AUTUMiN. 115 

K length of flame deceitful o'er the moss : 
Whither decoyd by the fantastic blaze, 
Now (ost and now renew'd, he sinks absorb'd, 
Ruisr and horse, amid the miry gulf: 
Wnile still, from day to day, his pining wife 1155 

And plaintive children his return await, 
In wild conjecture lost. At other times, 
Sent by the better genius of the night, 
Innoxious, gleaming on the horse's mane. 
The meteor sits ; and shows the narrow paih, I Hill 
That winding leads through pits of death, or else 
Instructs him how to take the dangerous ford. 

'I'he lengthen'd night elapsed, the Morning tliines 
Serene, in all her dewy beauty bright. 
Unfolding fair the last autumnal day. lUib 

And now the mounting sun dispels the fog ; 
The rigid hoar-frost melts before his beam ; 
And hung on every spray, on every blade 
Of grass, the myriad dew-drops twinkle round 1 WS- 

Ah, see where, robb'd and murder'd. in that pi« 
Lies the still heaving hive ! at evening snatchd. 
Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, 
And fix'd o'er sulphur : while, not dreaming ill. 
The happy people, in their waxen cells. 
Sat tending public cares, and planning schemes I (T.'S 
Of temperance, for Winter poor ; rejoiced 
To mark, full flowing round, their copious stores 
Sudden the dark oppressive steam ascends ; 
And, used to milder scents, the tender race. 
By thousands, tumble from their honied domes, 1 1''." 
Convolved, and agonizing in the dust. 
And was it then for this you rcaM'd the Spring, 
Intent from flower to flower ? for this you toild 
Ceaseless the burning Summer heats awa}' ? 
For this in Autumn search'd the blooming waste, 
Nor lost on3 sunny gleam ? for this sad fate ? 1 186 

O Man ! tyrannic lord ! how long how long 
Shall prostrate Nature groan beneath ytur rage. 



116 AUTUMN 

Awaiting renovation r wlien obliged, 

Must you destroy ? of their ambrosial food I19y 

Can you not borrow ; and, in just return 

\tFnrd them shelter from the wintry winds ; 

Or, as the sharp year pinches, with their own 

Again regale them on some smiling day ? 

See where the stony bottom of their town 1 19& 

Looks desolate and wild ; %vith here and there 

A helpless number, w^ho the ruin'd state 

Survive, lamenting weak, cast out to death. 

Thus a proud city, populous and rich, 

Full of the works of peace, and high in joy, 1200 

At theatre or feast, or sunk in sleep, 

(As late, Palermo, was thy fate) is seized 

By some dread earthquake, and convulsive hurl'd 

Sheer from the black foundation, stench-involved. 

Into a gulf of blue sulphureous flame. I2()ri 

Hence every harsher sight ! for now the day. 
O'er heaven and earth diffused, grows warm and high. 
Infinite splendour ! wide investing all. 
How still the breeze ! save what the filmy threads 
Of dew evaporate brushes from the plain. ' 1210 
How clear the cloudless sky ! how deeply tinged 
With a peculiar blue ! the' etherial arch 
How swell'd immense ! amid whose azure throned 
The radiant sun how gay ! how calm below 
The gilded earth ! the harvest treasures all 1215 

Now gather'd in, beyond the rage of storms. 
Sure to the swain ; the circling fence shut up ; 
And instant Winter's utmost rage defied. 
'Vhile, loose to festive joy, the country round 
Laughs with the loud sincerity of mirth, 1220 

Shook to the wind their cares. The toil-strung youth, 
By the quick sense of music taught alone. 
Leaps wildly graceful in the lively dance. 
Uer every charm abroad, the village-toast, 
f ouiig, buxom, warm, in native beauty rich, 1225 

Durts not unmeaning looks ; and where her eye 



AUTUMN. n> 

Tointa an approving smile, with double force, 
The cudgel rattles, and the wrestler twines. 
Age too shines out ; and, garrulous, recounts 
The feats of youth. Thus they rejoice ; nor think 
That, with to-morrow's sun, their annual toil 1231 
Begins again the never ceasing round. 

Oh, knew he but his happiness, of men 
The happiest he ! who far from public rage, 
Deep in the vale, with a choice few retired, 1235 

Drinks the pure pleasures of the Rural Life. 
What though the dome be wanting, whose proud gate. 
Each morning, vomits out the sneaking crowd 
Of flatterers false, and in their turn abused .'' 
Vile intercourse ! what though the glittering robe 
Of every hue reflected light can give, 1241 

Or floating loose, or stiff with mazy gold, 
The pride and gaze of fools I oppress him not ? 
What though, from utmost land and sea purvey'd, 
For him each rarer tributary life 1145 

Bleeds not, and his insatiate table heaps 
With luxury, and death ? What though his bowl 
Flames not with costly juice ; nor sunk in beds, 
Ofl of gay care, he tosses out the night, 
Or melts the thoughtless hours in idle state ^ 1250 
What though he knows not those fantastic joys 
That still amuse the wanton, still deceive ; 
A, face of pleasure, but a heart of pain ; 
Their hollow moments undelighted all ? 
Sure peace is his , a solid life, estranged 125b 

To disappointment, and fallacious hope : 
Rich in content, in Nature's bounty rich, 
In herbs and fruits ; whatever greens the Sprmg, 
When heaven descends in showers ; or bends the bough 
When Summer reddens, and when Autumn beams ; 
Or in the wintry glebe whatever lies 196 

Conceal'd, and fattens with the richest sap : 
These are not wanting ; nor the milky drove, 
Ujucuriant, spread o'er all the lowing vale ; 



118 AUTUMN. 

Nor bleating mountains ; nor the chide of streams, 

And hum of bees, invifting sleep sincere 1*.W6 

Into the guiltless breast, beneath the shade, 

Or thrown at large amid the fragrant hay ; 

Nor aught besides of prospect, grove, or song, 

Dim grottoes, gleaming lakes, and fountam clear. 

Here too dwells simple Truth ; plain Innocence ; \'J71 

Unsullied Beauty ; sound unbroken Youth, 

Patient of labour, with a little pleased ; 

Health ever blooming ; unambitious Toil , 

Calm Contemplation, and poetic Ease. 1275 

Let others brave the flood in quest of gain. 
And beat, for joyless months, the gloomy wave 
Let such as deem it glory to destroy. 
Rush into blood, the sack of cities seek ; 
Unpierced, exulting in the widow's wail, 1280 

The virgin's shriek, and infant's trembling cry. 
Let some, far distant from their native soil, 
Urged or by want or hardend avarice, 
Find other lands beneath another sun. 
Let this through cities work his eager way, 1285 

By legal outrage and establish'd guile, 
The social sense extinct ; and that ferment 
Mad into tumult the seditious herd, 
Oi melt them down to slavery. Let these 
Insnare the wretched in the toils of law, 129<I 

Fomenting discord, and perplexing right, 
An iron race ! and those of fairer front, 
But equal inhumanity, in courts, 
Delusive pomp and dark cabals, delight ; 
Wreathe the deep bow, diffuse the lying smile, )2i>{j 
And tread the weary labyrinth of state. 
VVliile he, from all the stormy passions free 
•f hat restless men involve, hears, and but hears, 
Al distance .safe, the huijian tempest roar, 
Wrappd close in conscious peace. The fall of kings, 
The rage of nations, and the crush of states ]'M) 

^l')\■c nr)t t!i,o "n'» uho, from the woild escaped, 



AUTUMN. M» 

In still retreats, and flowery solitudes, 

To iNalure 3 voice attends, from month to month 

And day to day, through the revolving year: 130t 

Adnurijig, sees her in her every shape ; 

Feels all her sweet emotions at his heart ; 

Tak'.fs what she liberal gives, nor thinks of more. 

H»5, when young Spring protrudes the bursting gem«, 

Marks the first bud, and sucks the healthful gale 1310 

Into his freshen'd soul ; her genial hours 

He full enjoys ; and not a beauty blows, 

And not an opening blossom breathes in vam, 

In Summer he, beneath the living shade, 

Such as o'er frigid Teinpe wont to wave, 1315 

Or Hemus cool, reads what the Muse, of these, 

Perhaps, is in immortal numbers sung ; 

Or what she dictates writes : and, oft an eye 

Shot round, rejoices in the vigorous year. 

When Autumn's yellow lustre gilds the world, 1320 

And tempts the sicklod swain into the field, 

Seized by the general joy, his heart distends 

With gentle throes ; and, through the tepid gleams 

Deep musing, then he best exerts his song. 

E'en Winter wild to liim is full of bliss. 1325 

The mighty tempest, and the hoary waste. 

Abrupt, and deep, stretch'd o'er the buried e|rth, 

Awake to solemn thought. At night the skies, 

Disc-osed, and kindled, by refining frost. 

Pour every lustre on liie' exalted eye. 1330 

A friend, a book, the stealing hours secure, 

And mark them dov/n for wisdom. With swift whig 

O'er land and sea imagination roams ; 

Or truth, divinely breaking on his mind, 

Elates his being, and unfolds his powers ; 1335 

Or in his breast heroic virtue burns. 

The toach of kindred too and love he feels •, 

The modest eye, whose beams on his alone 

Ecstatic shine ; the little strong embrace 

Of prattling childreu, iwined around his neck, 1340 



I2<) AUTUMN. 

And ejmilois lo please him. calling fortli 

The fond parental soul. Nor purpose i^ay, 

Aniuseinent, dance, or sonj^. he sternly scorns; 

For happiness and true plulos«»phy 

Are of the social, still, and suiiliu<: kind. liVU 

This is the life which th« se who tVi.t in guilt, 

And guilty cities, never knew ; the life, 

Led by primeval ages, uncorrupt, 

When Angels dwell, and Gon himself with Man! 

Oh Nature ! a!l sulhcient ! over all ! I'^o'i 

Enrich me with llie knowledge of thy works 1 
Snatch me to heaven ; thy rolling wonders there 
World beyond world, in inllnite e.vtent, 
Profusely scatter"d o'er the blue immense. 
Show me ; their motions, periods, and their laws, 
Give me to scan ; through the disclosilig deep 13ry5 
Light my blind way ; the mineral strata there ; 
Thrust, blooming, thence the vegetable world ; 
Oer that the rising system, more complex, 
Of animals ; and hiiihor still, the mind, KWi 

The varied scene of quick-compounded thought, 
And where the mi.xing passions endless shift ; 
These ever open to my ravish d eye ; 
A scearch, the flight of tiine can ne'er exhaust ! 
But if to that unequal ; if the blood, I3G6 

In sluggish streams about my heart, forbid 
That best ambition ; under closing shades, 
Inglorious, lay me by the lowlj- brook, 
And whisper to my dreams. From Thee begin, 
Hwell all on Thee, with Thee conclude my s<tng , 
And let me never, never stray from Thee .' 1.17 » 



WIxNTER. 



Theeahjbct propo(M»i. A<lilres« to the Rnrl of Wiiniin^tnn. Fir«1 
approach of VVir)ter Ac<;ofiliii2 to the natiirii! course of tr>4 
season, various storms (Ifscrilwd. R;uii. \V«iiil. Snow. To« 
driving of the snows; a man porishinw iimoii» ihom ; wiience re- 
flections on the wants and miserioii <>i human lit'o. The wolvei 
descending from the Alps and Apennines. A winter-nvciiin^ 
descriljed ; as »|»ent hy phihjsophers ; hy the country peop.'c , in 
the city. Frost. A view of Winter within th*: polar circl'f. A 
thaw. The whole concluding with moral reflections on a futut« 
■tato. 



See, WifJTER comes, to rule the varied year, 

Sullen and sad, with all his rising train ; 

Vapours, and Clouds, and Storms. Be these my th«me 

These ! that exalt the soul to solemn thought, 

And heavenly musing. Welcome, kindred glooms, 6 

Congenial horrors, hail ! with frequent foot. 

Pleased have I, in my cheerf il morn of life. 

When nursed by careless Solitude I lived, 

And sung of Nature with unceasing joy, 

Pleased have I wander'd through your rough domain ; 

Trod the pure virgin-snows, myself as pure ; li 

Heard the winds roar, and the big torrent burst ; 

Or seen the deep-fermenting tempest brew*d. 

In the grim evening sky. Thus pass'd the time. 

Till through the lucid chambers of the south 15 

Look'd out the joyous Spring, look'd out, and smiled. 

To thee, the patron of her first essay, 
The Muse, O Wilmington ! renews her song. 
Since nas she rounded the revolving year : 
Skimm'd tJie <jay Spring ; on eagle pinions borne. 81 
Attempted through the summer blaze to rise ; 
Tiien swept o'er Autumn with the shadowy gale • 
And now among the wintry clouds again. 
II 



122 VVlNTEa. 

RoU'd in the dotibling storm, she tries to soar , 

To swell her note A'ith all the rushing winds , 3A 

To suit her sounding cadence to the floods , 

As is her theme, hor numbers wildly great : 

Thrice happy could she iill thy judging ear 

With bold description and with manly thought 

Nor art thou skilled in awful schemes alone^ 3(^ 

And how to make a mighty people thrive : 

But equal goodness, sound integrity, 

A firm unshaken uncorrupted soul 

Amid a sliding age, and burning strong; 

Not vainly blazing, for thy country's weal, 3b 

A steady spirit regularly free ; 

These, each exalting each, the statesman hghJ 

Into the patriot ; these, the public hope 

And eye to thee converting, bid the Muse 

Record what envy dares not flattery call. 40 

Now when the cheerless empire of the sky 
To Capricorn the Centaur Archer yields, 
And fierce Aquarius stains the' inverted year , 
Hung o'er the furthest verge of heaven, the sun 
Scarce spreads through ether the dejected day. 45 
Faint are his gleams, and inefl'cctiial shoot 
His struggling rays, in horizontal lines. 
Through the thick air ; as clothed in cloudy storu*, 
Weak, wan, and broad, he skirts the southern sky ; 
And, soon descending, to the long dark night, 50 

Wide-shading all, the prostrate world resigns. 
Nor is the night unwishd ; while vital heat. 
Light, hfe, and joy the dubious day forsake. 
Meantime, in sable cincture, shadows vast, 
Doep-tinged and damp, and congregated clouds, 56 
And all the vapoury turbulence of heaven, 
[nvolve the face of things. Thus Winter falls, 
A heavy gloom oppressive o'er the world, 
Through Nature shedding influence malign, 
And rouses U]) the seeds of dark disease. 68 

I'hc soul of man dies in him, loathing lif,?, 



WINTER. ■'?^ 

^iid black witn more thnn melancholy v^iews. 
The cattle droop ; and o'er the furrow'd land, 
Fresh from the plough, the dun discolour'd flocks, 
Untended spreading, crop the wholesome root. 6fi 

Along the woods, along the moorish fens, 
Sighs the sad Genius of the coming storm : 
And up among the loose disjointed cliffs, 
.\nd fractured ir.r-uritains wild, the brawling brooh 
And cave, presageful, send a hollow moan, 70 

Resounding long in listening Fancy's ear. 

Then comes the father of the tempest forth, 
Wrapp'd in black glooms. First joyless rains obscure 
Drive through the mingling skies with vapour foul ; 
Dash on the mountain's brow, and shake the woods, 75 
That grumbling wave below. The' unsightly plain 
Lies a brown deluge ; as the low-bent clouds 
Pour flood on flood, yet unexhausted still 
Combine, and deepening into night shut up 
The day's fair face. The wanderers of heaven, B() 
Each to his home, retire ; save those that love 
To take their pastime in the troubled air. 
Or skimming flutter round the dimply pool. 
The cattle from the' untasted fields ret'irn, 
And ask, with meaning lowe, their wanted stalls, 85 
Or ruminate in the contiguous shade. 
Thither the household feathery people crowd, 
The crested cock, with all his female train, 
Pensive, and dripping ; while the cottage-hind 
Hangs o'er the' enlivening blaze, and taleful tiiere 90 
Recounts his simple frolic : much he talks. 
And much he laughs, nor recks the storm that bluw» 
Without, and rattles on his humble roof 

Wide o'-er the brim, with many a torrent swell d, 
And the mix'd ruin of its banks o'erspread, 95 

At last the roused-up river pours along : 
Resistless, roaring, dreadful, down it comes. 
From the rude mountain, and tJie inossy wild, 
Tumbl^ngr through rnck^ abrupt, and sounding far ; 



124 WINTER 

Then o'er the sanded valley floating spreads, Hli 

Calm, sluggish, silent ; till again, constrain'd 
Bet'.veen two meeting hills, it bursts away, 
Where rocks and woods o'erhang the turbid strt 
Their gathering triple force, rapid, and deep, 
It boils and wheels and foams and thunders thro 

Nature I great parent ! whose unceasing hand 
Rolls round the Seasons of the changoful year, 
How mighty, how majestic are thy works ! 
With what a pleasing dread they swell the soul • 
That sees astonish'd ! and astonish'd sings ' 
Ye too. ye winds ! that now begin to blow 
With boisterous sweep, I raise my voice to you. 
Where are your stores, ye powerful beings ! say, 
Where your aerial magazines reserved. 
To swell the brooding terrors of the storm ? 118 

[n what far distant region of the sky, 
Hushd in deep silence, sleep ye when 'tis calm .? 

When from the pallid sky the sun descends, 
With many a spot, that o'er his glaring orb 
Uncertain wanders, stain'd ; red fiery streaks 120 

Begin to flush around. The reeling clouds 
Stagger with dizzy poise, as doubting yet 
Which master to obey : while rising slow. 
Blank, in the leaden-colour'd east, the moon 
Wears a wan circle round her blunted horns. 125 

Seen through the turbid fluctuating air. 
The stars obtuse emit a shiver'd ray ; 
Or frequent seem to shoot athwart the gloom, 
And long behind them trail the whitening blaze. 
Snatch'd in short eddies, plays the wither'd leaf; 13f 
And on the flood the dancing feather floats. 
With broaden'd nostrils to the sky upturnd. 
The conscious heifer snufls the stormy gale. 
Een as the matron, at her nightly task, 
With pensive labour draws the flaxen thread, 135 

The wasted taper and the crackling flame 
Foretel the blast. But chief the plumy race. 



WINTER. 125 

The tenpnts of the sky, its changes speak. 
Retiiinij Irom the downs, where all day long 
They pick'd their scanty fare, a blackening tram 140 
Of clamorous rooks thick urge their weary fligln 
And seek the closing shelter of the grove ; 
Assiduous, in his bower, the wailing owl 
Plies his sad song. The cormorant on hiyli 
Wheels from the deep, and screams ah.ng the 1 nui. 1 l;-* 
Loud shrinks the soaring hern ; and with wild wing 
The circling seafowl cleave the flaky cloudf^. 
Ocean, unequal press'd, with broken tide 
And blind commotion heaves ; while from the shoie^, 
Eat into caverns by the restless wave, ^'^ 

And forest-rustling mountain, comes a voice, 
That sol'-mn sounding bids the worfd prepare. 
Then issues forth the storm with sudden burst, 
And hurls the whole precipitated air 
Down, in a torrent. On the passive main I5fe 

Descends the' etherial force, and with strong gust 
Turns from its bottom the discolourd deep. 
Through the black night that sits immense around, 
Lash'd into foam, the fierce conflicting brine 
Seems o'er a thousand raging waves to burn • 161 

Meantime the mountain billows, to the clouds 
In dreadful tumult swell'd, surge above surge, 
Burst into chaos with tremendous roar, 
And anchor 'd navies from their stations drive, 
Wild as the winds across the howling waste 16C 

Of mighty waters : now the' inflated wave 
Straining they scale, and now impetuous shoot 
Into the secret chambers of the deep. 
The wintry Baltic thundering o'er their head. 
Emerging thence again, before the breath 170 

Of full-exnrted heaven they wing their courso, 
And dart on distant coasts ; if some sharp rock 
Or shoal insidious break not their career, 
\nd in loose fragments fling them floating round. 
Nor ess at hand the loosen'd tempest reikfns. 176 
11 * 



126 WINTER 

The mountain thunders ; and its sturdy son* 

Stoop to the bi^ttoin of the rocks they shade. 

Lone on the inidniirht steep, and all aohasl, 

The dark waylariui;: stranir»'r breathless toils, 

And. otlen tailing, climbs against the blast. 180 

Low waves the rooted forest, vexd. and shoJs 

What o{ its tarnishd honours yet remain ; 

Dashd down, and scatterd. by the tearing wii.J's 

Assiduous tury. its gigantic limbs. 

Thus struggling through the dissipated grove, ld5 

The whirling tempest raves along the plain ; 

And on the cottage thatchd. or lordly roof, 

Keen-fastoning. shakes them to the solid base. 

Sleep frighted tlies ; and round the rocking dome, 

For entrance eager, howls the savage blast. liX) 

Then too. they say, throtigh all the burdend air. 

Long groans are heard, shrill sounds, and distant sighs, 

That, utterd by the Demon of the night. 

Warn the devoted wretch of woe and death. 

Huge uproar lords it wide. The clouds commix 'd 
With stars swift gliding sweep along the sky. 106 

All Nature reels. Till Nature "s King, who oft 
Amid tempestuous darkness dwells alone, 
And on the wings of the careering wind 
Walks dread*'ully serene, commands a calm ; 200 

Then, straight, air, sea. ajid earth are hush'd at oi»ce. 

As yei 'tis midnight deep. The weary cloudd, 
Slow-meeting, mingle into solid gloom. 
Now, while the drowsy world lies lost in sleep. 
Let me associate with the serious Night, 205 

And Contemplation, her sedate compeer ; 
Let me shake olTthe" intrusive cares of day, 
And lay the meddling senses all aside. 

Where now, ye lying vanities of life ! 
Ye ever tempting ever cheating train ! SIO 

Where are you now ? and what is your amounl ? 
Vexation, disappointment, and remors'* : 
Bad, sickening tliought ! and yet, deludt.;* man, 



WINTER. I2> 

K scene of crtide diBJointed visions past, 
And broken slunilicrs, rises still resolved, 215 

With new-flush d hopes, to run the giddy round. 

Father of light and life I thou Good Supreme ! 
O, teacli nie what is good I teach me Thyself! 
Save me from folly, vanity, and vice, 
From every low pursuit ! and feed my soul 220 

With knowledge, conscious peace, and virtue pure ; 
Sacred, substantial, never fading bliss ! 

The keener tempests rise : and fuming dun 
From all the livid east, or piercing north, 
Thick clouds as<;end ; in whose cap-icious womb 22i> 
A vapoury deluge lies, to snow congeal'd. 
Heavy they red! their fleecy world alimg ; 
And the sky saddnns with the gatherd storm. 
Through the hush'd air the whitening shower descends, 
At first thin wavering ; till at last the flakes 2',iQ 

Fall broad and wide and fast, dimming the day 
With a continual flow. The cherish d fields 
Put on their winter robe of purest white. 
Tis brightness all ; save where the new snow melt* 
Along the mazy current. Low the woods 2.io 

Bow their hoar head ; and ere the languid sun 
Faint from the west emits his evening ray. 
Earth's universal face, deep hid, and chill. 
Is one wild dazzling waste, that buries wide 
The works of man. Drooping, the labourer-ox 240 
Stand"? cover'd o'er with snow, and tlion demands 
The fruit of al! his toil. The fowls of lieaveu. 
Tamed by the cruel season, crowd around 
The winnowing store, and claim the little bfx^i. 
Which Providence as.signs them. One alone, 24K 
The red-breast, sacred to the houseJiold gt^dn, 
Wisely regardful of the' embroiling bky, 
In joyless fields and thorny thickets, kaves 
His shivering mates, and pays to trustrd man 
His annual visit. Half afraid; he first 250 

fcgaiiigi the window beats ; then, brisk, alik/itf 



128 WINTER. 

On the warm hearth ; then, hopping o'er the floor, 

Eyes all the smiling family askance, 

And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is ; 

Till, more familiar grown, the table-crumbs 25S 

Attract his slender feet. The foodless wilds 

Pour forth their brown inhabitants. The hare. 

Though timorous of heart, and hard beset 

By death in various forms, dark snares, and dogs, 

And more unpitying inen, the garden seeks, 2i'Ay 

Urged on by fearless want. The bleating kind 

Eye the bleak heaven, and next the glistening earth. 

With looks of dumb despair ; then, sad-dispersed. 

Dig for the wither'd herb through heaps of snow. 

Now, shepherds, to your helpless charge be kind, 
Baffle the raging year, and till their pens '266 

W'th food at will ; lodge them below the storm. 
And watch them strict : for from the bellowing east, 
In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing 
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains '270 

At one wide waft, and o'er the hapless flocks, 
Hid in the hollow of two neighbouring hills, 
The billowy tempest whelms ; till, upward urged, 
The valley to a shining mountain SAvells, 
Tipp'd with a wreath high-curling in the sky. 275 

As thus the snows arise ; and foul, and fierce. 
All Winter drives along the darken'd air ; 
In his own loose revolving fields, the swaiu 
Disaster'd stands ; sees other hills ascend, 
Uf unknown joyless brow ; and other scenes, 280 

Of horrid prospect, shag the trackless plain : 
Nor finds the river, nor the forest, hid 
Beneath the formless wild ; but wanders on 
From hill to dale, still more and more astray *, 
impatient flouncing through the drifted heaps, 285 
Stung with the liioughts of home; the thoughts ol'homi 
Rush on his nerves, and call their vigour forth 
In many a vain attempt. How sinks his soul ' 
What black despair, what hoiror fills his heari ; 



WINTER. 1» 

When for the dusky spot, which fancy feign'd 290 
His tufted cottage rising tlirough the snow, 
He meets the roughness of the middle waste, 
Far from the track and bless'd abode of man ! 
While round hiui night resistless cl(»sos fast, 
And every tempest, howling o'er his lioad, 21)5 

Renders the savage wilderness nutre wild. 
Then throng the busy shapes into his mind 
Of cover'd pits, unfathomably deep, 
A dire descent ! beyond the power of frost ! 
Of faithless bogs ; cf precipices huge, :i<H» 

Smooth'd up with snow ; and, what is land, unknown, 
What water, of the still unfrozen spring, 
In the loose marsh or solidary lake, 
Where the fresh fountain from the bottom boils. 
These check his fearful steps ; and down he sinks 
Beneath the shelter of the shapeless drift. 3i)6 

Thinking o'er all the bitterness of death, 
Mix'd with the tender anguish Nature shoots 
Through the wrung bosom of the dying man, 
His wife, his children, and his friends unseen. 310 

In vain for him the" officious wife prepares 
The fire fair-blazing, and the vestment warm ; 
In vain his little children, peeping out 
Into the mingling storm, demand their sire, 
With tears of artless innocence. Alas 1 316 

Nor wife, nor children, more shall he behold, 
Nor friends, nor sacred home. On every nerve 
The deadly Winter seizes ; shuts up sense ; 
And, o'er his inmost vitals creeping cold. 
Lays him along the snows, a stiffen'd corse, 320 

Strotch'd out, and bleaching in the northern blast 

Ah ! little think the gay licentious proud, 
Whom pleasure, power, and affluence surround ; 
They who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth, 
And wanton, often cruel, riot waste ; 325 

\h ! littlt: think they, wnile they dance along, 
Hov/ mu:;y feci, tK> ve.^ mv nen.' death, 



130 WINTER. 

And all the sad ranety of pain. 

How many sink in the devouring flood, 

Or more devouring flame. How many bleed, '\3C 

By shameful variance betwixt man and man. 

How many pine in want, and dungeon glooms , 

Shut from the common air, and common use 

Of their own limbs. How many drink the cup 

Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread 335 

Of misery. Sore pierced by wintry winds, 

How many shrink into the sordid hut 

Of cheerless poverty. How many shake 

With all the fiercer tortures of the mind, 

Unbounded passion, madness, guilt, remorse ; 340 

Whence tumbled headlong from the height of life, 

They furnish matter for the tragic Muse. 

E'en in the vale, where Wisdom loves to dwell, 

With friendship, peace, and contemplation join'd. 

How many, rack'd with honest passions, droop 345 

In deep retired distress How many stand 

Around the death-bed of their dearest friends, 

And point the parting anguish. Thought fond Man 

Of these, and all the thousand nameless ills. 

That one incessant struggle render life, 330 

One scene of toil, of sufi*ering, and of fate, 

Vice in his high career would stand appall d, 

And heedless rambling Impulse learn to think ; 

The conscious heart of Charity would warm, 

And her wide wish Benevolence dilate ; 35fi 

The social tear would rise, the social sigh ; 

And into clear perfection, gradual bliss. 

Refining still, the social passions work. 

And here can I forget the generous band,* 
Who, touch'd with human woe, redressive searched 
Into the horrors of the gloomy jail ? 361 

Unpitied, and unheard, where misery moans ; 
Where sickness pines ; where thirst and hunger bura, 
\nd poor misfortune feels the lash of vice, 
* The -Tail Committee, in tjie vear 1729. 



WINTER. 13» 

While in the land of Liberty, the lano 365 

Whose every street and public meeting glow 
With open freedom, little tyrants raged ; 
Snatch'd the lean morsel from the starving mouth : 
Tore from cold wintry limbs the tatter d weed ; 
E'en robb'd them of the last of comforts, sleep ; 370 
The freeborn Briton to the dungeon chain'd, 
Or, as the lust of cruelty prevail'd. 
At pleasure mark'd him with inglorious stripes •, 
And crush d out lives, by secret barbarous ways, 
That for their country would have toil'd or bled. 375 
O great design ! if executed well. 
With patient care, and wisdom-teniperd zeal. 
Ye sons of Mercy ! yet resume the searcii ; 
Drag forth the regal monsters into light, 
Wrench from their hands Oppression's iron rod, 'dfiii 
And bid the cruel f«el tiie pains they give. 
Much still untouch'd remains ; in this rank age. 
Much is tJie patriot's weeding hand required. 
The toils of law (what dark insidious men 
Have cumbrous added to perplex the truth, 3(v» 

And lengthen simple justice into trade,) 
How glorious were the day ! that saw these broko 
And every man within the reach of right. 

By wintry famine roused, from all tlie tract 
Of horrH mountains which the shining Alps, 1^*0 

And wavy Apennine, and Pyrenees, 
Branch out ^ 'upendous into distant lands , 
Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave ! 
Burning for blooN ' bonv and gaunt and grim ! 
Assembling wolves in ragmg tioops descend ; STfej 

And, pouring e'er the country, bear along 
Keen as the north-wind sweeps the glossy snow. 
All is their prize. They fasten on the steed. 
Press him to earth, and pierce his mighty heart 
Nor can the bull his awful front defend, 40* 

Or shake the murdering savages away. 
Rapacious, at the mother's throat they fly. 



i32 WlNTb:R. 

And tear the screaming infant from Jier breast. 

The godlike face of man avails bim nought. 

E'en beauty, force divine ! at whose lirigbt glance 40S 

The generous lion stands in soften'd gaze, 

Here bleeds, a hapless undistinguiyh'd prey 

But if, apprised of the severe attack, 

The country be shut up, lured hy the scent, 

On church-yards drear (inhuman to relate ') 410 

The disappointed prowlers fall, and dig 

The shrouded body from the grave ; o'er which, 

Mix'd with foul shades and frighted ghosts, they howl 

Among those hilly regions, where embraced 
In peaceful vales the happy Grisons dwell; 4ir> 

Oft, rushing sudden from the loaded cliffs, 
Mountains of snow their gathering terrors roll, 
From steep to steep, loud-thundering down they come, 
A wintry waste in dire commotion all ; 
And herds, and flocks, and travellers, and swains, 420 
And sometimes whole brigades of marching troojw 
Or hamlets sleeping in the dead of night. 
Are deep beneath the smothering ruin whelm'd. 

Now, all amid the rigours of the year. 
In the wild depth of Winter, while without 425 

The ceaseless winds blow ice, be my retreat, 
Between the groaning forest and the shore 
Beat by the boundless multitude of waves, 
A rural, shelter'd, solitary scene ; 

Where ruddy fire and beaming tapers join, 43(5 

To cheer the gloom. There studious let rne i»it, 
And hold high converse with the mighty Dead ; 
Bagos of ancient time, as gods revered, 
As gods beneficent, who bless'd mankind 
With arts, with arms, and humanized a world. 430 
Roused at the' inspiring thought, I throw asidr 
The longlived volume ; and, deep-musing, hail 
The sacred shades, that slowly rising pass 
Before my wondering eyes. First Socrates, 
Who, firmly good in a corrupted state, 44C 



WINTER. 1^ 

Against the rage of tyrants single stood, 
Invincible ! calm Reason's holy law, 
That Voice of God within tiie' attentive mind, 
Obeying, fearless, o. in life or death : 
Great moral teacher ! Wisest of mankind ! 445 

Solon the next, who built his commonweal 
On equity's wide base ; by tender laws 
A hvely people curbing, yet undamp'd 
Preserving still that quick peculiar fire, 
Whence in the laurel'd field of finer arts, 4r»0 

And of bold freedom, they unequal'd shone, 
The pride of smiling Greece and humankind. 
Lycurgus then, who bow'd beneath the force 
Of strictest discipline, severely wise, 
All human passions. Following him, I see, 155 

As at Thermopylae he glorious fell. 
The firm devoted Chief,* who proved by deeds 
The hardest lesson which the other taught. 
Then Aristides lifts his honest front ; 
Spotless of heart, to whom the' unflattering voice 460 
Of freedom gave the noblest name of Just ; 
In pure majestic poverty revered ; 
Who, e'en his glory to his country's weal 
Submitting, swell'd a haughty Rival's! fame. 
Rear'd by his care, of softer ray appears 465 

Cimon sweet-soul'd ', whose genius, rising strong, 
Shook off the load of young debauch ; abroad 
The scourge of Persian pride, at home the friend 
Of every worth and every splendid art ; 
Modest and simple in the pomp of wealth. 170 

Then the last worthies of declining Greece, 
Late call'd to glory, in unequal times. 
Pensive appear. The fair Corinthian boast, 
Timoleon, happy temper ! mild and firm, 
Who wept the brother while the tyrant bled. 475 

And, equal to the best, the Theban Pairt 
* Lecnideis. t Themistocles. 

J Pelopidas and Epaminowdas. 
12 



134 WINTER. 

Whose virtues, in heroic cor.cord join'tf, 
Their country raised to freedom, empire, fame. 
He coo, with whom Atheni.iu honour sunk, 
And left a mass of sordid Ices behnd, 48f 

Phoeion the Good ; in public life severe, 
To virtue still inexorably firm ; 
But when, beneath his low illustrious roof, 
Sweet peace and happy wisdom smoothed his brow. 
Nut friendship softer was, n r love more kind. 496 
\nd he, the last of old Lycurirus' sons, 
'Che generous victim to that vain attempt, 
To save a rotten state, Agis, who saw 
E'en Sparta's self to servile ivarice sunk. 
The two Achaian heroes close the train : 490 

Aratus, who awhile relumed the soul 
Of fondly lingering liberty in Greece ; 
And he her darling as her h'.test hope. 
The gallant Philopoemen ; who to arms 
Turn'd the luxurious pomj) lie could not cure ; 495 
Or toiling in his farm, a simple swain ; 
Or, bold and skilful, thundering in the field 
Of rougher front, a mighty people come ! 
A race of heroes ! in those = irtuous times 
Which knew no stain, save that with partial flame 500 
Their dearest country they loo fondly loved : 
Her better Founder first, the light of Rome, 
Nuraa, who soften'd her ra[>acious sons : 
Servius the king, who laid the solid base 
On which o'er earth the vast republic spread. 505 

Then the great consuls venerable rise. 
The public Father* who the private quell'd, 
As on the dread tribunal sternly sad. 
He, whom his thankless coi.nf ry could not lose, 
Camillus, only veng«ful to her foes. 610 

Fabricius, scorner of all corpiering gold ; 
And Cinciimatus, awful from the plough. 
Thy willing victim, t Carthnje, bursting loose 
• Marcus Junius Bnituj* f Regulw. 



WINTER. 135 

Is m all that ple.^ding Nature could oppose, 
F">" m a whole city's tears, by rigid faith 515 

lm)»erious call'd, and honour's dire command. 
Scipio, the gentle chief, humanely brave, 
Who soon the race of spotless glory ran, 
And, warm in youth, to the poetic shade 
VVith Friendship and Philosophy retired. 520 

TuUy, whose powerful eloquence awhile 
Restrain'd the rapid fate of rushing Rome. 
Unconquer'd Cato, virtuous in extreme : 
And, thou, unhappy Brutus, kind of heart. 
Whose steady arm, by awful virtue urged, 85t5 

Lifted the Roman steel against thy friend. 
Thousands besides the tribute of a verse 
Demand ; but who can count the stars of keaven . 
Who sing their influence on this lower world .-• 

Behold, who yonder comes ! in sober state, 530 

Fair, mild, and strong, as is a vernal sun : 
•Tis Phoebus' self, or else the Mantuan Swain ! 
Great Homer too appears, of daring wing, 
Parent of song ! and equal, by his side. 
The British Muse : join'd hand in hand they walk, 535 
Darkling, full up the middle steep to fame. 
Nor absent are those shades, whose skilful touch 
Pathetic drew the' impassion'd heart, and charm 'd 
Transported Athens with the moral scene ; 
Nor those who, tuneful, waked the' enchanting lyre. 

First of your kind ! society divine ! 541 

Still visit thus my nights, for you reserved. 
And mount my soaring soul to thoughts like yours 
Silence, thou lonely power ! the door be thine , 
See on the hallow'd hour that none intrude, 545 

Save a few chosen friends, who sometimes deign 
To blesB my humble roof, with sense refined. 
Learning digested well, exalted faith. 
Unstudied wit, and humour ever gay. 
Or from the Muses' hill with Pope descend, 55(j 

To raise the sacred hour, to bid it smile, 



136 WINTER. 

And with the social spirit warm the heart r 
For though not sweet his own Homer siuijs, 
V'et is his life the more endearing song 

Where art thou, Hammond ? thou, the darling prid» 
The triend and lover of the tuneful throng ! 566 

Ah, why, dear youth, in all the blooming prime 
Of vernal genius, where disclosing fast 
Each active worth, each manly virtue lay. 
Why wert thou ravish'd from our hope so soon ? 5G() 
What now avails that noble thirst of fame. 
Which stung thy fervent breast ? that treasured stor* 
Of knowledge, early gain'd? that eager zeal 
To servo thy country, glowing in the band 
Of youthful patriots, who sustain her name ; 5(j6 

What now, aJaa ! that life-diffusing charm 
Of sprightly wit ? that rapture for the Muse, 
That heart of friendship, and that soul of joy, 
Which bade with softest light thy virtues smile ' 
Ah ! only show'd, to check our fond pursuits, 570 

And teach our humble hopes that life is vain ! 

Thus in some deep retirement would 1 pass 
The winter glooms, with friends of pliant soul, 
Or blithe, or solemn, as the theme inspired : 
With them would search, if Nature's boundless frame 
Was call'd, late-rising from the void of niglit, 57b 

Or sprung eternal from the' Eternal Mind ; 
Its life, its laws, its progress, and its end. 
Hence larger prospects of the beauteous whole 
Would, gradual, open on our opening ujinds ; 580 

And each diffusive harmony unite 
In full perfection, to the' astonish'd eye. 
Then would we try to scan the mortal world, 
Which, though to us it seems einbroil'd. moves on 
Fn higher order ; fitted and impelld 585 

By Wisdom's finest hand, and issuing all 
In general sood. The sage historic Muse 
Should next conduct us through the deeps of time 
Show us how empire grew, declined, and fell, 



WINTER 137 

n tcatter'd states ; what makes the nations emile, 590 
Improves their soil, and gives them douVjle suns ; 
And why they pme beneath the brightest skies. 
In Nature's richest lap. As thus we talk'd,- 
Our hearts would burn within us, would inhale 
That portion of divinity, that ray 595 

Of purest heaven, which lights the public soul 
Of patriots and of heroes. But if doom 'd, 
/n powerless humble fortune, to repress 
These ardent risings of the kindling soul *, 
Then, oven superior to ambition, we GOO 

Would learn the private virtues ; how to glide 
Through shades and plains, along the smoothest stream 
Of rural life : or, snatchd away by hope, 
Through the dim spaces of futurity, 
tVith earnest eye anticipate those rcenes 605 

Of happiness and wonder ; where the mind, 
In endless growth and infinite ascent. 
Rises from state to state, and world to world. 
But when with these the serious thought is foil'd, 
We, shifting for relief, would play the shapes 610 

Of frolic fancy ; and incessant form 
Those rapid pictures, that assembled train 
Of fleet ideas, never join'd before. 
Whence lively Wit excites to gay surprise ; 
Or foUy-painthig Humour, grave himself, fJ15 

Calls Laughter forth, deep shaking every nerve. 

Meantime the village rouses up the fire ; 
While well attested, and as well believed, 
Heard solemn, goes the goblin story round ; 
Till superstitious horror creeps oer all. 620 

Or, frequent in the sounding hall, they wake 
The rural gambol. Rustic mirth goes round ; 
The simple joke that takes the shepherd's heart, 
Easily pleased ; the long loud laugh, sincere ; 
The kiss, snatch'd hasty fr<»m the sidelong maid, 625 
On purpose guardless or pretending sleep: 
The leap, the slap, the hau! , and, shook to notee 
12* 



138 WINTHR. 

Of native music, the resp)(>iideMt dance 

Thus jocund fleets with them the winter night. 

The city swarms intense. The pubUc haunt, 630 
Full of each theme, and wai'ii witli niix'd discourse, 
Hums indistinct. The sons of riot flow 
Down the loose stream of faise enchanted joy, 
To swifl, destruction. On the rankled soul 
The gaming fury falls ; and ,n one gulf C3f» 

Of total ruin, honour, virtue, peace, 
Friends, families, and fortuii" headlong sink. 
Up springs the dance along the lighted dome, 
Mix'd and evolved a thousaid sprightly ways. 
The glittering court efluses every pomp ; 640 

The circle deepens : b*eam"d from gaudy robes. 
Tapers, and sparkling gems, and radiant eyes, 
A soft eff'ulgence o'er the pMiace waves : 
While, a gay insect in his summer shine. 
The fop, light fluttering, spr' ads his mealy wings. 645 

Dread o'er the scene the ghost of Hamlet stalks ; 
Othello rages ; poor Moniiua mourns ; 
And Belvidera pours her soul in love. 
Terror alarms the breast ; tin. comely tear 
Steals o'er the cheek : or else the Comic Muse 650 
Holds to the world a pictur(- of itself, 
And raises sly the fair impartial laugh. 
Sometimes she lifts her strain, and paints the scenei 
Of beauteous life ; whate'er can deck mankind, 
Or chanr. the heart, in genciMus Bevil* show'd. 655 

O Thoi , whose wisdom, solid yet refined. 
Whose patriot virtues, and <;(Tisummate skill 
To touch the finer springs that move the world, 
Join'd to whate'er the GriiC' s can bestow, 
And all Apollo's animating fire, 660 

Give thee, with pleasing diii nity, to shine 
Al once the guardian, ornament, and joy 
Of polish'd life *. permit the rural Muse, 

* A character in The Conscious Lovers, written by Sir R, 
Steele. 



VVINTCR. 139 

O C'hesterficid, to grace with thee her song ' 

Kre to the shades again she humbly flies, G65 

Indulge her fond ambition, in thy train 

(K'or every Muse has in thy train a place,) 

To mark thy various full-accomplish'd mind : 

To mark that spirit which, with British scorn, 

Redacts the' allurements of corrupted power ; C^O 

That elegant politeness, which excels, 

E'en in the judgment of presumptuous France, 

The boasted manners of her shining court; 

That wit, the vivid energy of sense, 

The truth of Nature, which, with Attic point C75 

And kind v/ell temper'd satire, smoothly keen, 

Steals through the soul, and without pain correcta 

Or rising thence with yet a brighter flame, 

O, let me hail thee on some glorious day. 

When to the listenmg senate, ardent, crowd 680 

Britannia's sons to hear her pleaded cause 

Then dress'd by tnee, more amiably fair, 

Truth the soft robe of mild persuasion wears- 

Thou to assenting reason givest again 

Her own enlighten'd thoughts ; call'd from the heart, 

The' obedient passions on thy voice attend ; G-5(> 

And e'en reluctant party feels awhile 

Thy gracious power ; as through the varied maze 

Of eloquence, now smooth, now quick, now strong. 

Profound, and clear, you roll the copious flood. (i'.iO 

To thy loved haunt return, my happy Muse 
For now, behold, the joyous winter days. 
Frosty, succeed ; and through the blue serene, 
For sight too ^e, the' etherial nitre flies ; 
Killing infectious damps, and the spent air 695 

Storing afresh with elemental life. 
Close crowds the shining atmosphere ; and binds 
Our strengthen'd bodies in its cold embrace, 
Constringent ; feeds and animates our blood ; 
Refines our spirits, through the new-strung nerves TiTfl 
In swifter sallies dartinor to the brain ; 



/40 WINTER. 

VVliere sits the soul, intense, collected, cool| 

Bright as the skies, and as the season keen 

All Nature feels the renovating force 

Of Winter, only to the thoughtless eye 7CB 

Ir ruin seen. The frost-concocted glebe 

Draws in abundant vegetable soul, 

And gathers vigour for the coming year. 

A stronger glov^^ sits on the lively cheek 

Of ruddy fire : and luculent along 710 

1 he purer rivers flow ; their sullen deeps, 

Transparent, open to the shepherd's gaze, 

And murmur hoarser at the fixing frost. 

What art thou, frost .-' and whence are thy keen stores 
Derived, thou secret all-invading power, 715 

Whom e'en the' illusive fluid cannot fly .'' 
Is not thy potent energy, unseen. 
Myriads of little salts, or hook'd, or shaped 
Like double wedges, and diffused immense 
Through water, earth, and ether ? hence at eve, 720 
Steam'd eager from the red horizon round. 
With the fierce rage of Winter deep snftused, 
An icy gale, oft shifting, o'er the pool 
Breathes a blue film, and in its mid career 
Arrests the bickering stream. The loosen'd ice, 725 
Let down the flood, and half dissolved by day, 
Rustles no more ; but to the sedgy bank 
Fast glows, or gathers round the pointed stone, 
A crystal pavement, by the breath of heaven 
Cemented firm ; till, seized from shore to shore, 73U 
The whole imprison'd river growls below. 
Loud rings the frozen earth, and hard reflects 
A louble noise ; while, at his evening watch. 
The village dog deters the nightly thief; 
The heifer lows ; the distant waterfall 735 

Swells in the breeze ; and, with the hasty tread 
Of traveller, the hollow sounding plain 
Shakes from afar. The full etherial round, 
.nfinite worlds disclosing to the view, 



WINTER. 1*. 

Shines out intensely keen ; and, all one cope 740 

Of starry glitter, glows from pole to pole. 
From pole to pole the rigid influence falls, 
Through the still night, incessant, heavy, strong, 
And seizes Nature fast. It freezes on ; 
Till Morn, late rising o'er the drooping world, 745 
Lifts her pale eye unjoyous. Then appears 
The various labour of the silent night : 
Prone from the dripping eave, and dumb cascade, 
Whose idle torrents only seem to roar. 
The pendent icicle ; the frost-work fair, 756 

Where transient hues and fancied figures rise ; 
Wide-spouted o'er the hill, the frozen brook, 
A livid tract, cold-gleaming on the morn ; 
The forest bent beneath the plumy wave ; 
And by the frost refined the whiter snow, 756 

Incrusted hard, and sounding to the tread 
Of early shepherd, as he pensive seeks 
His pining flock, or from the mountain top. 
Pleased with the slippery surface, swift descends. 

On blithesome frolics bent, the youtnful swains, 760 
While every work of man is laid at rest, 
Fond o'er the river crowd, in various sport 
And revelry dissolved ; where mixing glad, 
Happiest of all the train ! the raptured boy 
Lashes the whirling top. Or, where the Rhine 765 
Branch'd out in many a long canal extends. 
From every province swarming, void of care, 
Batavia rushes forth ; and as they sweep. 
On soimding skates, a thousand diff"erent ways, 
In circling poise, swift as the winds, along, 77C 

The then gay land is madden'd all to joy. 
Nor less the northfirn courts, wide o'er the snow 
Pour a new pomp. Eager, on rapid sleds, 
Their vigorous youth in bold contention wheel 
The long-resounding course. Meantime to raise 776 
1'he manly strife, with highly blooming charms, 



142 WINTER. 

Flush'd by the season, Scandinavia's dames, 

Or Russia's buxom daughters, glow around. 

Pure, quick, and sportful is the wholesome day ; 
But soon elapsed. The horizontal sua, 78fl 

Broad o'er the south, hangs at his utmost noon • 
And, ineftectual, strikes the gelid cliff: 
His azure gloss the mountain still maintains, 
Nor feels the feeble touch. Perhaps the vale 
Relents awhile to the reflected ray : 78^ 

Or from the forest falls the clustcr'd snow, 
Myriads of gems, that in the waving gleam 
Gay-twinkle as they scatter. Thick around 
Thunders the sport of those, who with the gun, 
And dog impatient bounding at the shot, 790 

Worse than the Season, desolate the fields ; 
And, adding to the ruins of the year, 
Distress the footed or the feather'd game. 

But what is this ? our infant Winter sinks 
Divested of his grandeur, should our eye 795 

Astonish'd shoo' into the frigid zone ; 
Where, for relentless months, continual Night 
Holds o'er the glittering waste her starry reign. 

There, through the prison of unbounded wilds, 
Barr'd by the hand of Nature from escape, 800 

Wide roams the Russian exile. Nought around 
Strikes his sad eye but deserts lost in snow ; 
And heavy-loaded groves ; and solid floods, 
That stretch, athwart the solitary vast. 
Their icy horrors to the frozen main ; 805 

And cheerless towns far distant, never bless'd, 
Save when its annual course the caravan 
Bends to the golden coast of rich Cathay,* 
With news of humankind. Yet there life glows ; 
Yet clierish'd there, beneath the shining waste, 810 
The furry nations harbour : tipp'd with jet, 
Fair ermines, spotless as the snows they press ; 
* The old name lor C'huia. 



VViiNTER. 14j 

Sables, of glossy black ; md dark-embrown'd, 
Or beauteous freak'd with many a mingled hue, 
Thousands besides, the rostly pride of courts. 81? 

There, warm together press'd, the trooping deer 
Sleep on the new-fallen snows ; and, scarce his head 
Raised o'er the heapy wreath, the branching elk 
Lies slumbering sullen i;i the white abyss. 
The ruthless hunter wajits nor dogs nor toils, 820 

Nor with the dread of somding bows he drives 
The fearful flying race , with ponderous clubs. 
As weak against the mor.ntain heaps they push 
Their beating breast in vain, and piteous bray, 
He lays them quivering m the' ensanguined snows, 
And with loud shouts rejoicing bears them home. 853t 
There through the piny ^orest half-absorb'd. 
Rough tenant of these .-uades, the shapeless bear, 
With dangling ice all horrid, stalks forlorn ; 
Slow-paced, and sourer as the storms increase, 83*0 
He makes his bed beneath the' inclement drift, 
And, with stern patience, scorning weak complaint, 
Hardens his heart against assailing want. 

Wide o'er the spacious regions of the north, 
That see Bootes urge his tardy wain, 835 

A boisterous race, by frosty Caurus* pierced, 
Who little pleasure know and fear no pain, 
Prolific swarm. They once relumed the flame 
Of lost mankind in polish'd slavery sunk. 
Drove martial horde on horde,t with dreadful sweep 
Resistless rushing o'er the' enfeebled south, 841 

And gave the vanquish d world another form. 
Not such the sons of Lapland : wisely they 
Despise the' insensate barbarou'^ trade of war, 
Thsy ask no more than simple Nature gives, 848 

They love their mountains, and enjoy their stomas 
No false desires, no pride-created wants, 
Disturb the peaceful current of their time ; 

* The North-west wind. 

t The wcuitieriiig Scnhian ciaoa. 



144 WINTER. 

And through the restless ever tortured maze 

Of pleasure or ambition bid it rage. 8frfl 

Their reindeer form tneir riches. These tlieir lenir, 

Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth 

Supply, their wholesome fare and cheerful cups. 

Obsequious at their call, the docile tribe 

Yield to the sled their necks, and whirl them swift 8oJ 

O'er hill and dale, heapd into one expanse 

Of marbled snow, as far as eye can sweep. 

With a blue crust of ice unbounded glazed. 

By dancing meteors then, that ceaseless shake 

A waving blaze refracted o'er the heavens, 860 

And vivid moons, and stars that keener play 

With doubled lustre from the glossy waste. 

E'en in the depth of polar night, they find 

A wondrous day : enough to h^ht the chase, 

Or guide their daring steps to Finland fairs. 865 

Wisird Spring returns ; and from the hazy south, 

While dim Aurora slowly moves before, 

The v/elcome sun, just verging up at first, 

By small degrees extends the swelling curve ! 

Till seen at last for gay rejoicing months, 870 

Still round and round his spiral course he winds, 

And as he nearly dips his llaming orb. 

Wheels up again, and reascends the sky. 

In that glad season, from the lakes and floods, 

Where pi^re Niemi's* fairy mountains rise, 875 

And fringed with roses Tengliol rolls his stream, 

* M. de Maupertius, in his book on the Figure of the Eartli, 
after having described the beautiful lake and mountain of 
Niemi, in Lapland, says, " Fron. this height we had opportu 
nity several times to see those vapours rise tioni tlie lake, 
wiiich the people of the country call H?ltios, and which tliey 
deem to be the guardian spirit* of the nwuntaiiis. We had 
been frighted with stories of bears that haunted this place, hul 
saw none. It seemed rather a place of resort for fairies and 
genii than bears." 

tThe same author observes, " I was surprised to see njmp 
the banks of this river (the Tenglio) roses ol iis livel}^ a reil a. 
•ny U»at are in our gardens." 



WINTER lit 

Tht^y draw the copious fry Wuh thtsse, at evb, 
Thay cheerful loaded to their tents repair ; 
Where, all day long in useful cares employ d, 
Their kind unbieinishd wives the fire prepare. 680 
Tlirice happy race ! by poverty secured 
From legal plunder and rapacious power : 
In whom fell interest never yet has sown 
The seeds of vice : whose spotless swains no'er knew 
Injurious deed, nor, blasted by the breach 885 

Of faithless love, their blooming daughters woft. 

Still pressing on, beyond Tornea s lake. 
And Hecla flaming through a waste of snow, 
And furthest Greenland, to the pole itself, 
Where, failing gradual, life at length goes out, 890 
The Muse expands her solitary flight ; 
Aiid, hovering o'er the wild stupendous scene, 
Beholds new seas boneath another sky.* 
Tlir'^ned in his palace of cerulean ice, 
Here Winter holds his unrejoicing court ; 886 

AiiQ through his airy hall the loud misrule 
0[ driving tempest is for ever heard : 
HcTa the grim tyrant meditates his wrrj,h ; 
Here arms his winds with all-subduing frost ; 
Moulds his fierce hail, and treasures up his snowa,900 
With which he now oppresses half the globe. 

Tlieace, winding eastward to the Tartar's coart, 
She sweeps the howling margin of the main; 
Wher^; undi.<tsolving, from the first of time. 
Snows swell on snows amazing to the sky ; 906 

And icy mountains high on mountains piled. 
Seem to the shivering sailor from afar, 
Shapeless and white, an atmosphere of cloudc 
Projected huge and horrid o'er the surge, 
Alps frown on Alps ; or, rushing hideous dow«^ Wfl 
As if old Chaos was again return "d 
Wide rend ♦he deep, and shake the BO.'id pole. 
* The other hemi sphere. 
13 



14(5 WINTER 

Ocean itself no longer can resist 
The binding fury : but, vn all its rage 
Of tempest taken by the boundless frost, 915 

Ih many a fath)m to the bottom chain'd, 
And bid to loar no more : a bleak expanse, 
Shagg'd o'er with wavy rocks, clieerless, and void 
Of every life, that from the dreary months 
Flies conscious soutliward. Miserable they . 9^0 

Who, here entai.gled in the gathering ice, 
Take their last look of the descending sun; 
While, full of death and fierce with tenfold frost, 
The long long night, incumbent o'er liteir heads, 
Falls horrible. Such was the Briton's" *ate, 925 

As with first prow (what have not Britons dared ?) 
Ho for the passage sought, attempted sii.ce 
So much in vain, and seemujg to be shut 
By jealous nature with eternal bars. 
In these fell regions, in Arzina caught, 9itfl 

And to the stony deep his idle ship 
Innnediate seal'd, he wiih his hapless crew. 
Each full exerted at his several task, 
Froze into statues ; to the cordage glued 
Tne sailor, and the pilot to the helm. i)35 

Hard by these shores, where scarce hisfreezingptrewn 
Rolls the wild Oby, live the last of men ; 
And, half enliven'd by the distant sun, 
That rears and ripens man as well as plants, 
Mere human Nature wears its rudest form. 1)40 

Deep from the piercing season sunk in caves, 
Here by dull fires, and with unjoyous cheer, 
They waste the tedious gloom Immersed in furs, 
Doze the gross race. Nor sprightly jest, nor song, 
Nor tenderness they know ; nor augnt of life 045 

Beyond the kindred bears that stalk without, 
Till morn at length, her roses drooping all, 

'^r Huf;h Wilioug^hby, sent by Queen Bhzabetb U> 4ttt 



WINTER. 141 ; 

Sneda a long twilifrht briThtening o'er their (Inlds. 
And Crtlls the quiv«rd savage to tlie chase. 

What cannot active government perform, OSG ; 

New-nioulding man ? Wide-stretching iV'm these 
A people savage from remotest time, [shores, j 

A huge neglected empire, one vast mind, j 

By Heaven inspired, from gothic darkness call'd. [ 

Immortal Peter I first of monarcns I he DfiS j 

His stubborn country tamed, her rocka, her fens, | 

Her floods, her seas, her ill submitting sons ; ! 

And vk^hile the fierce barbarian he subdued, ; 

To more exalted soul he raised the man. ' 

Ve shades of ancient heroes, ye who toild 960 i 

Through Icng successive ages to build up j 

A labouring plan of state, behold at once 
The wonder done 1 behold the matchless princo ! 
Wlio left his native throne, where reign d till then 
A mighty shadow of unreal power ; 96E 

Who greatly spurn'd the slotiiful pomp of courts; 
And roaming every land, in every port 
HlS sceptre laid aside, with glorious hand 
Unwearied plying the mechanic tool, 
Gather'd the seeds of trade, of useful arts, 970 

Of civil wisdom, and of martial skill. 
Charged with the stores of Europe, home he goes? 
Then cities rise amid the" illumiiicd waste ; 
Uer joyless deserts smiles the rural roign ; 
Far distant flood to flood is social j(?in d , 97S 

The" astonish'd Euxine hears the Baltic roar ; 
Prout' navies ride on seas that nev^r toam'd 
With daring keel before ; and armies stretch 
Each way the.r dazzling files, repressing here 
The frantic Alexander of the north, 98fl 

And aw'.ng there stern Olhman's shrinking sons. 
Sloth flics the land, and Ignorance, and Vice, 
C f old dishonour proud : it glows ar«jund, 
Taught *»y the Royal /land that roused the whole. 



I4.>J WINTER. 

One sc<^n6 of arts, of arms, of rising trade : USS 

For wiiat his wisdom plann'd, and power enforced, 
More potent still, his great example show'd. 

Mutte-ing. tlie winds at eve, with blvinlod point, 
Bljw hollow-blustering from the soutli. Sal>dued, 
The frost resolves into a trickling thaw. i**.*0 

Spoiled the mountains shine ; loose sieet descends, 
And floods the country round. The rivers 6«eeli, 
Of bonds impatient. Sudden from the hills, 
O'ei rocks and woods, in broad brown calarictB, 
A th;>usand snow-fed torrents siioot at once ; 9U5 

And, where they rush, the wide-resounding plain 
Is left one slimy waste. Those sullen seas, 
Ihat washd the" ungenial pole, will rest no more 
Beneath the shackles of the mighty north ; 
But, rousing all their waves, resistless heavo. 1000 
And hark ! the lengthening roar continuous runs 
Athwart the rilled deep ; at once it bursts, 
And piles a thousand mountains to the clouds 
HI fvj-es the bark, ivith trembling wretches churg-ed. 
That, toss'd amid the floating fragments, moors 1005 
Beaeath the shelter of an icy isle. 
While night o'erwhelms the sea, and horror looks 
More horrible. Can human force endure 
The' assembled mischiefs that besiege them round .* 
Heart-gnawing hunger, fainting weariness, lOlt) 

The roar of winds and waves, the crush of ice, 
Now ceasing, now renew'd with louder rage, 
And in dire echoes bellowing roiind the main. 
More to embroil the deep. Leviathan, 
And his unwieldy train, in dreadful sport, 1015 

Tempest t)ie loosend brine, while through the gloom, 
Far from the bleak inhospitable shore 
[..oading the winds, is heard the hungry howl 
Of famish'd monsters, there awaiting wrei.ks 
Set Providi nee, that ever waking eye, 1090 

Looks down vvitli pit}* on the feeble toil 



WINTER. 14% 

Of mortars ^9. to hope, and lights them safe, 
Through all this dreary labyrinth ot fa-d. 

'Tis done! dread Winter spreads his latc«i alDoins, 
And reigns tremendous o'er the con(]ua 'd Te.*:/. lU'^ 
How dead the veg3table kingdom lies 
How dumb the tuneful ! horror wide exirrids 
His desolate domain. Behold, fond man ' 
See here thy pictured life ; pass some ft^w yearH, 
Thy flowering Spring, thy Summer's ardent slrenjjlh, 
Thy sober Autumn fading into age, UKil 

And pale concluding Winter comes at last, 
And shuts the scere. Ah ! whither now are fli d 
Those dreams of greatness? tliose unsolid hcpe? 
Of happiness .-* those longings after fame ' lOll*) 

Those restless cares •" those busy bustlini; days ' 
Those gay-spent, festive nights? those veenn'MhoughtH, 
Lost between good and ill, that shared thy life ' 
All now are vanish'd 1 Virtue sole survives, 
Immortal never failing friend of Man, 1^40 

His ffuide to happiness on high. And see ! 
'Tis come, the glorious morn ! the second birth 
Of heaven and earth! awakening Natuie hears 
The new-creating word, and starts to life, 
In every heighten'd form, from pain and death 1045 
For ever free. The great eternal scheme, 
Involving all, and in a perfect whole 
Uniting, as the prospect wider spreads. 
To reason's eye refined clears up apace. 
Ye vainly wise ! ye blind presumptuous! now, I050 
Confounded in the dust, adore that Power 
And Wisdom ofl arraign'd : see now the cause, 
Why unassuming worth in secret lived. 
And died neglected : why the good man's share 
.n life was gall and bitterness of soul : 1055 

Why the lone widow and her orphans pined 
Ir starving solitude ; while Luxury, 
In palaces, lay straining her low thought, 
13* 



f6l> WINTER 

To form unreal wants : why heaven-born truth, 

And moderation fair, wore the red marks 1O60 

Of superstition's scourge : why licensed pain. 

That cruel spoiler, that embosom u foo, 

Embitter d all our bliss. Ye good aistressd • 

Ye noble few ! who here unbending stand 

Deneath life's pressure, yet bear up awhile, 106& 

Am' what your bounded view, which oi^y saw 

k little part, deem'd evil is no more : 

The storms of Wintry Time will quick] j paw, 

4nd one m\bound«}d Spring encircle aU. 



H Y M N. 



These, us they change, Almighty Father, iuawb 

Are but tne varied God. The rolling year 

Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing Sprinf 

Thv beauty walks, thv tenderness, and love. 

Witie flush the fields ; the softening air is balm ; & 

Echo the mountains round . the forest smiles ; 

And every sense, and every heart is joy. 

Then comes thy glory in the Summer months, 

Wi'.h light and heart refulgent. Then thy sun 

Shoots full perfection through the swelling year ; 10 

And oft THY VOICE in dreadful thunder speaks ; 

And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve, 

By brooks and groves, in hollow-whispering gales 

Thy bounty shines in Autumn unconfined, 

And spreads a common feast for all that lives. 15 

In Winter awful Thou • with clouds and storms 

Around Thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest roli'd. 

Majestic darkness ! on the whirlwind's wing, 

Riding sublime, Thou bidst the v/orld adore, 

And humblest Nature with thy northern blast. 20 

Mysterious round ! what skill, what force divine. 
Deep felt, in these appear ! a simple train. 
Yet so delightful mix'd, with such kind art, 
Such beauty and beneficence combined j 
Shade, unperceived, so softening into shade ,• 2S 

And all so forming an harmonious whole ; 
That, ae they still succeed, they ravish still. 
But wandering oft, with brute unconscious gaze, 
Man marks not Thee, marks not the mighiy hand, 
That, ev?r busy, wheels the silent sphere ; BU 



ir>o HYMN. 

Works in the secret deep ; shoots, steaming, thenes 

The fair profusion that o'erspreads the Spring; 

Flinijs from the sun direct the flaniino- day ; 

Feeds every creature ; hurls the tempest forth ; 

And, as on ca«"th this grateful change .evolves, 86 

With transport touches ail the springs of life 

Nature, attend 1 join, "very living sonl 
Beneath the spacious temple of the sky, j 

hi adoration join ; and, ardent, ra'se 
One genera] song 1 To Him, ye vocal gales, 40 

Breathe soft, whose spirit in ;"xir freshness breathes • 
Oh, talk of Him in solitary glooms ! 
Where, o'er the rock, the scarcely waving pine 
Fills the brown shade with a religious awe. 
And ye, whose bolder note is heard afar, 45 

Who shake the' astonish'd world, lift high to heaven 
The' impetuous song, and say from whom you rage. 
His praise, ye brooks, attune, ye trembling rills; 
And let me catch it as I muse along. 
Ye headlong torrer.ts. rapid and profound ; BO 

Ye softer floods, that lead the humid maze 
Along the vale ; and thou, majestic main. 
A secret world of wonders in thyself, 
Sound Hi9 stupendous praise : whose greater voice 
Or bids you roar or bids your roarings fall. 55 

Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers, 
In mingled clouds to Him ; whose sun exalts, 
Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paiatB. 
Ye forests, bend ; ye harvests, wave to Him ; 
Breathe your still song into the reapers heart, 60 

As home he goes beneath the joyous moon. 
Ye -hat keep watch in heaven, as earth asleep 
Unconscious lies, efl'use your mildest beams, 
Ye constellations, while your angels strike, 
Amid the spangled sky, the silver lyre. 01 

Great source of day ! best image here below 
Of thy Creator, ever poiu-ing wide, 
From world to world, the vital ocean round, 



HYMN 153 

On Nature write with every beam His praise. 
The thuinder rolls . be hush'd the prostrate wor:dj 70 
While cloud to cloud returns the solemn hymn. 
Bleat out afresh, je hills : ye mossy rocks, 
Rctair the sound : the broad responsive lowe, 
Ye valleys, raise ; for the Great Shkphkp.d reigos , 
And his unsuffering kmgdom yet will corue. 7b 

Yo woodlands all, awako : a boundlesL song 
Burst from the groves ! and when the restless day, 
Expiring, lays the warbling world asleep, 
Sweetest of birds ! sweet Philomela, charm 
The listening shades, and teach the night His praise. 
Ye chief, for whom the whole creation smile?, 81 

At once the head, the heart, and tongue of all, 
Crown the great hymn ; in swarming cities vast, 
Assembled men, to the deep organ join 
Tho long resounding voice, oft breaking clear, 86 
At solemn pauses, through the swelling base ; 
And, as each mingling flame increases o^chf 
In one united ardour rise to heaven. 
Or if yoii rather choose the rural shade, 
And find a fane in every sacred grove ; 90 

There let the shepherd's flute, the virgin's lay, 
The prompting seraph, and the poet's lyre, 
Still sing the God of Seasons as they roll !-- 
For rae, when 1 forget the darling theme, 
V-'hether the blossom blows, the summer ray 96 

Russets the plain, inspiring Autumn gleams, 
Or Winter rises in the blackening east ; 
Be my ton^e mute, my fancy paint no more, 
And, dead to joy, forget my heurt to beat ! 

Should fate command me to the furthest verge 100 
Of the green earth, to distant barbarous climes, 
Rivers unknown to song ; where first the sun 
Gilds Indian mountains, or his setting beam 
Flames on the' Atlantic isles ; 'tis nought to me • 
Since God is ever present, ever felt, 108 

Id the void xvMte as in the city full : 



54 HYM^ 

And where He vital breathes there must be joy 

When even at last the solemn hour shall come, 

And wing my mystic flight to futiir.^ w(>r)drf, 

I cheerful will obey ; there, with new power*, IR 

Will rising vonders sing . I cannot go 

Wkore Universal Love not smiles around, 

Sustaining all yon orbs, and all their suns ; 

From seeming Evil still educing Good, 

And better thence again, and better sliU 116 

In infinite progression. But I lose 

Mys*»'.i in Hjm, in Light ineffable ! 

Come tben cj^pressire Silence, mnse Hu fommt 



THE 



COURSE OF TIME, 



A fO£M. 



BY ROBERT .OLLOK, AM 



A NEW EDITION 



BOSTON: 

CROSBY AND I^ICHOLS. 

1862. 



COURSE OF TIME 

BOOK I, 



ANALYSIS OP BOOK L 



biTocation i« nade to the Eternal Spirit of Truth, uid the ea 
ject of the Poem is stated. 

Long aAer Time had ceaaed, and Eternity had rolled on its age*, 
two youthful sons of Paradise walk on the hills of immortality, 
enjoying holy converse. A stranger spirit from another world 
arrives, and is welcomed by them to the abodes of bliss. 
The stranger desires them to explain the wonderful things he 
had noticed m his flight from his native world to heaven. Hav- 
ing aailed through empty, nameles. regions, where utter nothing 
dwelt, he suddenly came to a mountainous wall of fiery ada- 
mant, on which were horrid figures, traced in fire, imitating 
life. He entered within, and saw a wide lake of burning /ire, 
and saw moat miserable beings walking in the flames, banung 
eootinually, yet unconsumed. Filled with horror, he hastened 
from the dismal prison to the wo'ld of light, and now desired 
to understand this wondrous wretchedness. The Two, unable 
to explain it, and having their curiosity awakened, propose lo 
visit an " ancient Bard of Earth," who often had sung on this 
subject to the admiring youth of heaven. 

They find the Bard alone, in holy musing, and state to him theii 
desire. He informs them that the prison described is Hell, and 
promises more fiilly to meet their cariosity by rela:;ng to then 
the HuxoKT OF Mak. 



COURSE OF TIME. 
BOOK I. 

Etebnal Sperit ! God of truth ! to whom 
All things seem as they are ; Thou, who of old 
The prophet's eye unsealed, that nightly saw, 
While heavy sleep fell down on other men, 
In holy vision tranced, the fature pass 
Before him, and to Judah's harp attuned 
Burdens which made the pagan mountains shaki^ 
And Zion's cedars bow, — inspire my song ; 
My eye tmscale ; me what is substance teach. 
And shadow what, while I of things to come, 
As past, rehearsing, sing the Course of Time, 
The second birth, and final doom of man. 

The muse, that soft and sickly wooes the ear 
Of love, or, chanting loud in windy rhyme 
Of fabled hero, raves through gaudy tale 
Not overfraught with sense, I ask not : such 
A strain befits not argument so high. 
Me thought, and phrase severely sifting out 
The whole idea, grant ; uttering — as 'tis 
The essential truth — time gone, the righteous save^ 
The wicked damned, and providence approved. 

Hold my right hand. Almighty ! and me teach 
To strike the lyre, but seldom struck, to notes 
14* 



162 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Harmonious with the morning stars, and pure 
As those by sainted bards and angels sung, 
Which wake the echoes of Eternity ; 
That fools may hear and tremble, and the wise, 
Instructed, listen, of ages yet to come. 

Long was the day, so long expected, past 
Of the eternal doom, that gave to each 
Of all the human race his due reward. 
The sun, earth's sun, and moon, and stars, had ceased 
To nvmiber seasons, days, and months, and years 
To mortal man. Hope was forgotten, and fear : 
And tinae, with all its chance, and change, aad smiles, 
And frequent tears, and deeds of villany, 
Or righteousness, once talked of much, as things 
Of great renown, was now l)ut ill remembered ; 
In dim and shadowy vision of the past 
Seen far remote, as country, which has left 
The traveller's speedy step, retiring back 
From mom till even ; and long Eternity 
Had rolled his mighty years, and with his years 
Men had grown old. The saints, all home returned 
From pilgrimage, and war, and weeping, long 
Had rested in the bowers of peace, that skirt 
The stream of life ; and long — alas ! how long 
To them it seemed ! — the mcked, who refused 
To be redeemed, had wandered in the dark 
Of hell's despair, and drunk the biiming cup 
Their sins had filled with everlasting wo. 

Thus far the years had rolled, which none but God 
Doth niimber, when two sons, two yduthful sons 
Of Paradise, in conversation sweet, — 
For thus the heavenly muse instructs me, wooed 
At midnight hour, with oifering sincere 
Of all the heart, poured out in holy prayer, - 



163 



High on the hiJs of immortality, 

Whence goodliest prospect looks beyond the ■walls 

Of heaven, walked, casting oft their eye far througK 

The pure serene, observant if^ returned 

From errand duly finished, any came, 

Or any, first in virtue now complete, 

From other worlds arrived, confirmed in good. 

Thus viewing, one they saw, on hasty wing 
Directing towards heaven his course ; and now, 
His flight ascending near the battlements 
And lofty hills on which they walked, approached. 
For round and round, in spacious circuit wide, 
Mo\mtains of tallest stature circaimscribe 
The plains of Paradise, whose tops, arrayed 
In uncreated radiance, seemed so pure. 
That naught but angel's foot, or saint's, elect 
Of God, may venture there to walk. Here oft 
The sons of bliss take mom or evening pastime. 
Delighted to behold ten thousand worlds 
Around their svms revolving in the vast 
External space, or listen the harmonies 
That each to other in its motion sings. 
And hence, in middle heaven remote, is seen 
The moimt of God in a-v\'ful glory bright. 
Within, no orb create of moon, or star, 
Or sun, gives light ; for God's own countenanca^ 
Beaming eternally, gives light to all. 
But farther than these sacred hiUs, his will 
Forbids its flow, too bright for eyes beyond. 
This is the last ascent of Virtue ; here 
All trial ends, and hope ; here perfect joy. 
With perfect righteousness, which to these heighti 
Alone can rise, begins, above all fall. 

And now, on wmg of holy ardor strong, 
Hither ascends the stranger borne upright. — 



164 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

For stranger he did seem, with curious eye 
Of nice inspection roirnd stirveying all, — 
A.nd at the feet alights of those that stood 
His coming, who the hand of welcome gave, 
And the embrace smeete of holy love ; 
And thiis with comely greeting kind, began : 

Hail, brother ! hail, thou son of happiness, 
Thou son beloved of God ! welcome to heaven, 
To bliss that never fades ! thy day is past 
Of trial and of fear to fall. Well done. 
Thou good and faithful servant ; enter now 
Into the joy eternal of thy Lord. 
Come with us, and behold iax higher sight 
Than e'er thy heart desired, or hope conceived 
See, yonder is the glorious hill of God, 
'Bove angel's gaze in brightness rising high. 
Come, join our wing, and we will guide thy fliglit 
To mysteries of everlasting bliss — 
The tree, and fount of life, the eternal throne, 
And presence chamber of the King of kings. 
But what concern hangs on thy covmtenance, 
Unwont within this place ? Perhaps thou deems! 
Thyself unworthy to be brought before 
The always Ancient One. So are we, too, 
Unworthy ; but our God is all in all. 
And gives us boldness to approach his throne. 

Sons of the Highest ! citizens of heaven ! 
Began the new-arrived, right have ye judged : 
Unworthy, most unworthy is yotir servant, 
To stand in presence of the King, or hold 
Most distant and most humble place in this 
Abode of excellent glory unrevealed. 
But God Almighty be for ever praised, 
Who of his fullness, fills me with all grac« 



IM 



Ajid ornament, to make me in his sight 
Well pleasing, and accepted in Ms court. 
But, if your leisure waits, short narrative 
Will tell, why strange concern thus overhangs 
My face, ill seeming here ; and haply, too. 
Your elder knowledge can instruct my youth. 
Of what seems dark and doubtful, unexplained. 

Our leisure waits thee. Speak ; and what we can, 
Delighted most to give delight, we will ; 
Though much of mystery yet to us remains. 

Virtue, I need noC xVi, when proved and full 
Mattired, inclines ui up to God and heaven, 
By law of sweet canpulsion strong and sure ; 
As gravitation to the larger orb 
rhe less attracts, through matter's whole domain. 
Virtue in me was ripe. I speak not this 
In boast ; for what I am to God I owe, 
Entirely owe, and of myself am naught. 
Equipped and bent for heaven, I left yon world. 
My native seat, which scarce yoxir eye can reach, 
Rolling around her central sun, far out, 
On utmost verge of light. But first, to see 
What lay beyond the visible creation, 
Strong curiosity my flight impelled. 
Long was my way, and strange. I passed the bound! 
Which God doth set to light, and Ufe, and love ; 
Where darkness meets with day, where order meeif 
Disorder, dreadful, waste, and wild ; and down 
The dark, eternal, uncreated night 
Ventured alone. Long, long on rapid wing, 
I sailed through empty, nameless regions vast, 
Where utter nothing dwells, xinformed and y*ndi 
There neither eye, nor ear, nor any sense 
01 being most acute, finds object ; there 



166 THE COURSE OF riMB. 

For aught external still you search in vain. 

Try touch, or sight, or smell ; try what you will. 

You strangely find naught but yourself alone. 

But why should I in words attempt to tell 

What that is like, which is, and yet is not ? 

This past, my path, descending, led me still 

O'er unclaimed continents of desert gloom 

Immense, where gravitation shifting turns 

The other way ; and to some dread, unknown, 

Infernal centre downward weighs : and now,^ 

Far travelled from the edge of darkness, far 

As from that glorious motmt of God to light's 

Remotest limb, — dire sights I saw, dire soimds 

I heard ; and suddenly before my eye 

A wall of fiery adamant sprung up, 

Wall mountainous, tremendovis, flaming high 

Above all flight of hope. I paused, and looked •, 

And saw, where'er I looked upon that mound, 

Sad figtires traced in fire, not motionless, 

But imitating life. One I remarked 

Attentively ; but how shall I describe 

What naught resembles else my eye hath seen } 

Of worm or serpent kind it something looked, 

But monstrous, with a thousand snaky heads, 

Eyed each with double orbs of glaring wTrath ; 

And with as many tails, that twisted out 

In horrid revolution, tipped with stings ; 

And all its mouths, that wide and darkly gaped. 

And breathed most poisonous breath, had each a stin^ 

Forked, and long, and venemous, and sharp ; 

And, in its writhings infinite, it grasped 

Malignantly what seemed a hea»-t, swollen, black. 

And qmvering with torture most intense ] 

And still the heart, with anguish throbbing h^jh, 

V^ade efl'ort to escape, but could not ; for, 

Howe'er it ttirned — and oft tt vainly turned — 



BOOK I. 161 

rhese complicated foldings held it fast. 

Aiifl still the monstrous beast with sting of head 

Or tail transpierced it, bleeding evermore. 

WTiat this could image, much I searched to know; 

And while I stood, and gazed, and wondered long, 

A voice — from whnnce I knew not, for no one 

I saw — distinctly whispered in my ear 

These words : Th»s is the Worm that never dies. 

Fast by the side of this unsightly thing 
Another was portrayed, more hideous still : 
Who sees it once shall wish to see't no more. 
For ever iindescribed let it remain ! 
Only this much I may or can unfold. 
Far out it thrust a dart that might have made 
fhe knees of Terror quake, and on it hung, 
Within the triple barbs, a being pierced 
Through soid and body both. Of heavenly make 
Driginal the being seemed, but fallen, 
^d worn and wasted with enormoxis wo. 
^d still, around the everlasting lance. 
It writhed, convulsed, and uttered mimic groans ; 
^d tried and wished, and ever tried and wished 
Co die ; but could not die. Oh, horrid sight ! 
;. trembling gazed, and listened, and heard this voice 
Approach my ear : This is Eternal Death. 

Nor these alone. Upon that burning wall, 
I'ji horrible emblazonry, were limned 
All shapes, all forms, all modes of wretchedness, 
And agony, and grief, and desperate wo. 
Aijid prominent in characters of fire, 
\VTiere'er the eye could light, these words you read : 
* Who comes this way, behold, and fear to sin I " 
Aonazed I stood ; and thought such imagery 
S'oret'>kened, within, a dangerous abode. 



168 THE COiJRSE OF TIME. 

But yet to see the worst a wish arose. 

For ^nrtue, by the holy seal of God 

Accredited a.-id stamped, iimnortal all. 

And all iii\Tilnerable, fears no hurt. 

As easy as my \^'ish, as rapidly, 

I through the horrid rampart passed, imscathed 

And unopposed ; and, poised on steady wing, 

I hovering gazed. Eternal Justice ! sons 

Of God ! tell me, if ye can tell, what then 

I saw, what then I heard. Wide was the place. 

And deep as wide, and ruinous as deep. 

Beneath, I saw a lake of burning fire. 

With tempest tost perpetually, and still 

The waves of fiery darkness 'gainst the rocks 

Of dark damnation broke, and music made 

Of melancholy sort ; and ovei head. 

And all around, Avind warred with A\'ind, storm howled 

To storm, and lightning forked lightning crossed. 

And thimder answered thunder, muttering sounds 

Of sullen >\Tath ; and far as sight could pierce, 

Or do^v^l descend in caves of hopeless depth. 

Through all that dungeon of vmfading fire, 

I saw most miserable beings walk. 

Burniiig continually, yet unconsumed ; 

For ever wasting, yet endming still ; 

Djing perpetually, yet never dead. 

Some wandered lonely in the desert flames, 

And some in fell encoimter fiercely met. 

With cm*ses loud, and blasphemies, that made 

The cheek of Darkness pale ; and as they fought, 

And cursed, and gnashed their teeth, and wished to di^ 

Their hollow eyes did utter streams of wo. 

And there were groans that ended not, and sighs 

That always sighed, and tears that ever wept 

And ever fell, but not in Mercy's sight. 

Ajad Sorrow, and Repentance, and Despair, 



161 



/Lmong them walked, and to their thirsty lips 

Presented frequent cups of burning gall. 

Ajid as I listened, I heard these beings curse 

Almighty God, and curse the Lamb, and curse 

The earth, the resurrection mom, and seek, 

And ever vainly seek, for utter death. 

And to their everlasting anguish still, 

The thunders from above responding spoke 

These words, which, through the caverns of perditicm 

Forlornly echoing, fell on every ear : 

" Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not." 

And back again recoiled a deeper groan. 

A deeper groan ! Oh, what a groan was that ! 

I waited not, but s-vNoft on speediest wing, 

With \inaccustomed thoughts conversing, back 

Retraced my venturous path from dark to light. 

Then up ascending, long ascending up, 

I hasted on ; though whiles the chiming spheres, 

By God's own finger touched to harmony, 

Held me delajing, till I here arrived. 

Drawn upward by the eternal love of God, 

Of wonder full and strange astonishment, 

At what in yonder den of darkness dwells, 

Which now your higher knowledge will unfold. 

They answering said : To ask and to bestow 
Knowledge, is much of heaven's delight ; and now 
Most jo}'fully what thou requirst we would ; 
For much of new and unaccoimtable 
Thou bringst. Something indeed we heard before 
In passing conversation slightly touched. 
Of such a place ; yet, rather to be taught, 
Than teacliing, answer, what thy marvel asks, 
We need ; for we ourselves, though here, are but 
Of yesterday, creation's younger sons. 
But there is one, an ancient bard of Earth, 
15 



1 70 THE COUI.se of TIME. 

Who, oy tae stream of life, sitting in bliss, 

Has oft beheld the eternal years complete 

The mighty circle round the throne of God ; 

Great in all learning, in all wisdom great, 

And great in song ; whose harp in lofty strain 

Tells frequently of what thy wonder craves, 

While roimd him, gathering, stand the youth of heaven 

With truth and melody delighted both. 

To him this path directs, an easy path. 

And easy flight will bring us to his seat. 

So sajing, they linked hand in hand, spread out 
Their golden -wings, by living breezes fanned. 
And over heaven's broad champaign sailed serene. 
O'er hill and valley, clothed with verdure green. 
That never fades ; and tree, and herb, and flower, 
That never fades ; and many a river, rich 
With nectar, winding pleasantly, they passed 
And mansion of celestial mould, and work 
Divine. And oft delicious music, sung 
By saint and angel bands that walked the vales. 
Or mountain tops, and harped upon their harps, 
Their ear inclined, and held by sweet constraint 
Their wing ; not long, for strong desire awaked 
Of knowledge that to holy use might turn. 
Still pressed them on to leave what rather seemed 
Pleasure, due only when all duty's done. 

And now beneath them lay the wished-for spot, 
The sacred bower of that renowned bard ; 
That ancient bard, ancient in days and song ; 
But in immortal vigor young, and young 
In rosy health ; to pensive solitude 
Retiring oft, as was his wont on earth. 

Fit was the place, most fit, for holy oiiisini^ 
Upon a little mount, that gently rose, 



17' 



He sat, clothed in white robes ; and o'er his head 
A laurel tree, of lustiest, eldest growth, 
Stately and tall, and shadowing far and wide, — 
Not fruitless, as on earth, but bloomed and rich 
With frequent clusters, ripe to heavenly taste, — 
Spread its eternal boughs, and in its arms 
A myrtle of unfading leaf embraced — 
The rose and lily, fresh with fragrant dew, 
And every flower of fairest cheek, around 
Him, smiling flocked. Beneath his feet, fast by. 
And round his sacred hill, a streamlet walked. 
Warbling the holy melodies of heaven ; 
The hallowed zephjTS brought him incense sweet ; 
And out before him opened, in prospect long, 
The river of life, in many a winding maze 
Descending from the lofty throne of God, 
That with excessive glory closed the scene. 

Of Adam's race he was, and lonely sat, 
By chance that day, in meditation deep, 
Reflecting much of time, and earth, and man. 
\jid now to pensive, noAV to cheerful notes, 
He touched a harp of wondrous melody. 
A golden harp it was, a precious gift. 
Which, at the day of judgment, AWth the crown 
Of life, he had received from God's own hand« 
Reward due to his service done on earth. 

He sees their coming, and with greeting kind. 
And welcome, not of hollow forged smiles, 
And ceremonious compliment of phrase. 
But of the heai-t sincere, into his bower 
Invites. Like greeting they retiuTied. Not bent 
Tn low obeLsancy, from creature most 
Unfit to creature ; but with manly form 
Upright they entered in ; though high his rank. 



L72 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

His wisdom high, and mighty his renown. 

And thus, deferring all apology, 

The two their new companion introduced. 

Ancient in knowledge ! bard of Adam's race ! 
We bring thee one, of iis inquiring what 
We need to learn, and with him wish to learn. 
His asking will direct thy answer best. 

Most ancient bard ! began the new-arrived. 
Few words will set my wonder forth, and guide 
Thy wisdom's light to what in me is dark. 

Equipped for heaven, I left my native place. 
But first beyond the realms of light I bent 
My course ; and there, in utter darkness, far 
Remote, I beings saw forlorn in wo. 
Burning continually, yet imconsumed. 
And there were groans that ended not, and sighi 
That always sighed, and tears that ever wept 
And ever fell, but not in Mercy's sight. 
And still I heard these wretched beings curse 
Almighty God, and curse the Lamb, and curse 
The earth, the resurrection mom, and seek, 
And ever vainly seek, for utter death. 
And from above the thunders answered still, 
♦* Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not." 
And everywhere, throughout that horrid den, 
I saw a form of excellence, a form 
Of beauty without spot, that naught could see 
And not admire, admire and not adore. 
And from its own essential beams it gave 
Light to itselJ^ that made the gloom more dark. 
And every eye in that infernal pit 
Beheld it still ; and from its face — how fair I 
Oh, how exceeding fair ! — for ever sought, 



17* 



But ever vainly sought, to turn away. 
That image, as I guess, was Virtue ; for 
Naught else hath God given countenance so fair. 
But why in such a place it should abide ? 
What place it is ? What beings there lament ? 
Whence came they ? and for what their endless groan 
Why curse they God ? why seek they utter death ? 
And chiefi what means the resurrection morn : 
My youth expects thy reverend age to tell. 

Thou rightly deemst, fair youth, began the bard. 
The form thou sawst was Virtue, ever fair. 
Virtue, like God, whose excellent majesty. 
Whose glory virtue is, is omnipresent. 
No being, once created rational. 
Accountable, endowed with moral sense. 
With sapience of right and wrong endowed, 
And charged, however fallen, debased, destroyed ; 
However lost forlorn, and miserable ; 
In guilt's dark shrouding wrapped however thick ; 
However dnink, delirious, and mad, 
With sin's full cup ; and with whatever damned. 
Unnatural diligence it work and toil, — 
Can banish Virtue from its sight, or once 
Forget that she is fair. Hides it in night, 
In central night ; takes it the lightning's wing 
And flies for ever on, beyond the bounds 
Of all ; drinks it the maddest cup of sin ; 
Dives it beneath the ocean of despair ; 
It dives, it drinks, it flies, it hides in vain. 
For still the eternal beauty, image fair, 
Once stamped upon the soul, before the eyo 
All lovely stands, nor will depart ; so God 
Ordains ; and lovely to the worst she seems, 
And ever seems ; and as they look, and still 
Must ever look, upon her loveliness, 
15* 



174 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Remembrance dire of what they were, of what 
They might have been, and bitter sense of what 
They are, polluted, mined, hopeless, lost, 
"With most repenting torment rend their hearta» 
So God ordains, their punishment severe, 
Eternally inflicted by themselves. 
'Tis this, this Virtue, hovering evermore 
Before the vision of the damned, and, in 
Upon their monstrous moral nakedness 
Casting unwelcome light, that makes their wo, 
That makes the essence of the endless flame. 
Where this isi, there is hell, darker than aught 
That he, the bard three- visioned, darkest saw. 

The place thou sawst was hell ; the groans tho« 
heardst 
The wailings of the damned, of those who would 
Not be redeemed, and at the judgment day. 
Long past, for xmrepented sins were damned. 
The seven loud thunders which thou heardst, declare 
The eternal wrath of the Almighty God. 
But whence, or why they came to dwell in wo, 
Why they curse God, what means the glorious mom 
Of resurrection, these a longer tale 
Demand, and lead the mournlul lyre far back 
Through memory of sin and mortal man. 
Yet haply not rewardless we shall trace 
The dark disastrous years of finished Time. 
Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy. 
Nor yet shall all be sad ; for God gave peace. 
Much peace on earth, to aU who feared his name. 

But first it needs to say, that other style 
Aad other language than thy ear is wont. 
Thou must expect to hear — the dialect 
Of man. For each in heaven a relish holds 



176 



Of former speech, that points to wheace he- came. 

But whether I of person speak, or place. 

Event or action, moral or divine ; 

Or things unknown compare to tilings ^mkno\l^^^; 

Allude, imply, suggest, apostropliize ; 

Or touch, when wandering through the past, on m«od« 

Of mind thou never feltst ; — the meaning still. 

With easy apprehension, thou shalt take. 

So perfect here is knowledge, and the strings 

Of sympathy so tuned, that eveiy word 

That each to other speaks, though never heard 

Before, at once is fully understot <i. 

And every feeling uttered, fully felL 

So shalt thou find, as from my various song. 
That backward rolls o'er many a tide of year*. 
Directly or inferred, thy asking, thou. 
And wondering doubt, sh^t learn to aaawsXt v^hii^ 
I akBtch in brief the hiatxtry oi jxuwl. 



UOIJESE OF TIME 

BOOK U. 



ANALYSIS OP BOOK D. 

The "ancient Bard" begins his story. He relates briefly th« 
creation of the Earth, and of Man ; the Aposiacy ; and the 
provision for Man's recovery through the Incarnation and 
Death of the Son of God. The inquiring spirit breaks out in 
rapturous admiration of Redeeming Love, expressuig the sup- 
position that the whole race of Adam must have availed them 
selves of its benefits. The Bard proceeds, correcting this 
mistake, and stating further the efforts on the pan of God to 
secure the salvation of men, and the unwillingness of multi- 
tudes to receive mercy The Bible, proceeding from God him- 
self, was sent to them, contaming a ful exhibition of God's 
character and law ; of man's character, condition, duty, and 
destiny ; of the nature and tendency of sin, and of the method 
of final pardon ; but many refused to regard this voice from 
heaven; many perverted its testimony; many, after extin- 
guishing the light of revelation, yielded to impious idolatry 
Some of the influences which operate to counteract the Bible 
are noticed ; particularly the criminal abuse of office and au- 
thority, the admiration of philosophy and science, the love of 
pleasure and indolence. In conclusion, the " primal cause " 
and " fountain head " of all the oppoaition manifested to God 
and to his revealed word, u iband in the Pride of the homaa 
keart. 



COURSE OF TIME. 
BOOK II. 

This said, he waked the golden harp, and thui, 
While on him inspiration breathed, began : 

As from yon everlasting hills that gird 
Heaven northward, I thy course espied, I judge 
Thou from the arctic regions came ! Perhaps 
Thou noticed on thy way a Kttle orb. 
Attended by one moon, her lamp by night. 
With her fair sisterhood of planets seven. 
Revolving roimd thwr central sun ; she third 
In place, in magnitude the fourth, That orb. 
New made, new named, inhabited anew, — 
Though whiles we sons of Adam visit still. 
Our native place, not changed so far but we 
Can trace our ancient walks, the scenery 
Of childhood, youth, and prime, and hoarj' age, 
But scenery most of suffering and wo, — 
That little orb, in days remote of old. 
When angels yet were yoimg, was made for man« 
And titled Earth, her primal virgin name ; — 
Created first so lovely, so adorned 
With hUl, and dale, and lawn, and winding vale, 
Woodland, and stream, and lake, and rolling sea^ 
Green mead, and fruitful tree, and fertile grain. 
And herb and flower ; so lovely, so adorned 



180 rHB OOVBSE OF TIMB. 

With numerou' beasts of erery kind, with fowl 

Of every wing nnd every tuneful note. 

And with all fish that in the multitude 

Of waters swam ; so lovely so adorned. 

So fit a dwelling place for man, that, as 

She rose, complete, at the creating word. 

The morning stars, the sons of God, aloud 

Shouted for joy ; and God, beholding, saw 

The fair design, that from eternity 

His mind conceived, accomplished, and, well ;^ea9ed 

His six days finished work most good pronoimced. 

And man declared the sovereign prince of aU. 

All else was prone, irrational, and mute, 
And nnaccotmtable, by instinct led. 
But man He made of angel form erect, 
To hold communion with the fieavens above ; 
And on his soul impressed his image fair 
His own similitude of holineaa 
Of virtue, truth, and love ; with reason mgn 
To balance right and wrong, and consience quick 
To choose or to reject ; -with knowledge great. 
Prudence and wisdom, vigilance and strength. 
To guard all force or guile ; and, last of all. 
The highest gift of God's abimdant grace. 
With perfect, free, unbiased will. Thus man 
Was made upright, immortal made, and croAvned 
The king of all ; to eat, to drink, to do 
Freely and sovereignly his wiU entire ; — 
By one command alone restrained, to prove, 
As was most just, his filial love sincere, 
His loyalty, obedience due, and faith. 
And thus the prohibition ran, expressed, 
^s God is wont, in terms of plainest truth. 

Of every tree that in the garden grows 
Chou mayest freely eat ; but of the tree 



n\ 



That knowledge hath of good and ill, eat not^ 
Nor touch ; for in the day thou eatest, thou 
Shalt die. Go and this one command obey, 
Adam, live and be happy, and with thy Eve, 
Fit consort, multiply and fill the earth. 

Thus they, the representatives of men. 
Were placed in Eden, choicest spot of earth. 
With royal honor and with glory crowned, 
Adam, the Lord of all, majestic walked^ 
With godlike countenance sublime, and form 
Of lofty towering strength ; and by his side 
Eve, fair as morning star, with modesty 
Arrayed, with virtue, grace, and perfect love 
In holy marriage wed, and eloquent 
Of thought and comely words, to worship God 
And sing his praise, the Giver of all good : 
Glad, in each other glad, and glad in hope ; 
Rejoicing in their future happy race. 

O lovely, happy, blest, immortal pair ! 
Pleased with the present, full of glorious hope. 
But short, alas ! the song that sings their bliss i 
Henceforth the history of man grows dark ! 
Shade after shade of deepening gloom descends ; 
And Innocence laments her robes defiled. 
Who farther sings, must change the pleasant lyrt 
To heavy notes of wo. Why ! dost thou ask, 
Surprised ? The answer wUl surprise thee more. 
Man sinned ; tempted, he ate the guarded tree ;— 
Tempted of whom thou afterwards shall hear;— 
Audacious, unbelieving, proud, ungrateful. 
He ate the interdicted finiit, and fell ; 
And in his fall, his universal race ; 
For they in him by delegation weire, 
In him to stand or fall, to live or clie. 
16 



ISt THS OOrZLSS OF TDO. 

Man most ingrate I so full of grace, to SB, 
Here interposed the new-arrived, so full 
Of bliss, to sin against the Gracious One ! 
The holy, just, and good I the Eternal Lore ! 
UnseBn, unheard, unthought of wickedness ! 
"Why slumbered vengeance ? No, it slumbered nod 
The erer just and righteous God would let 
His forv loose, and satisfy his threat. 

That had been just, replied the reverend baid ; 
But done, fair youth, thou ne'er hadst met me herbi 
I ne'er had seen yon glorious throne in peace. 

Thy powers are great, originally great. 
And purified even at the fount of light. 
Exert them now, call all their vigor out ; 
Take room, T.hi-nV vastly, meditate intensely, 
Keason profoundly; send conjecture forth; 
Let fancy fly, stoop down, ascend ; all length, 
All breadth explore, all moral, all divine ; 
Ask prudence, justice, mercy ask, and might ; 
Weigh good with evil, balance right with wrong j 
"VTith virtue vice compare, hatred with love ; 
God's holiness, God's justice, and God's truth. 
Deliberately and cautiously compare 
With sinful, wicked, vile, rebellious man ; — 
And see if thou canst punish sin, and let 
Mankind go free. Thou feUst ; be not surprised ; 
I bade thee search in vain. Etamal love, — 
Harp, lift thy voice on high ! — eternal love, 
Eternal, sovereign love, and sovereign grace. 
Wisdom, and power, and mercy infinite. 
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God, 
Devised the wondrotis plan, devised, achieved. 
And in achieving made the marvel more. 
Attead, ye heavens I ye heaven of heavens, attend I 



lA 



A-ttend and wonder, wonder evermore ! 

Wh.en man had fallen, rebelled, insulted God ; 

Was most polluted, yet most madlv proud ; 

Indebted infinitely, yet moat poor ; 

Captive to sin, yet willing to be bound ; 

To God's incensed justice and hot wrath 

Exposed, due victim of eternal death 

And utter wo — Harp, lift thy voice on high ! 

Ye everlasting hills I ye angels I bow ; 

Bow, ye redeemed of men I — God was made flesh, 

And dwelt wilh man on earth I The Son of God, 

Only begotten and well beloved, between 

Men and his Father's jvistice interposed; 

Put human nature on ; His wrath stistained ; 

And in their name suffered, obeyed, and died. 

Making his soul an offering for sin ; 

Just for unjust, and innocence for guilt, 

By doing, suffering, dying unconstrained. 

Save by omnipotence of boiindless grace. 

Complete atonement made to God appeased. 

Made honorable his insulted law, 

Turning the wrath aside fixim pardoned man. 

Thus Truth with Mercy met, and Righteousness, 

Stooping firom highest heaven, embraced fair Peac^k 

That walked the earth in fellowship with Love. 

O love divine 1 O mercy infinite ! 
The audience here in glowing rapture broke ; 
O love, all height above, all depth below, 
Surpassing far all knowledge, all desire. 
All thought ! The Holy One for sinners dies ! 
The Lord of life for guilty rebels bleeds. 
Quenches eternal fire with blood divine ! 
Abundant mercy I overflowing grace I 
There, whence I came, I something heard of mea ; 
Their name had reached us, and report did speak 



184 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Df some abominable borrid thing, 

Of desperate offence tbey bad committed. 

Ajid sometbing too of wondrous grace we beard. 

Ajid oft of onr celestial visitants 

Wbat man, wbat God bad done, inqtured; but thej 

Forbid, our asking never met directly, 

Elxborting still to persevere uprigbt, 

And we sbould bear in beaven, tbougb greatly hictai 

Oiirselves, new wonders of God's wondrous love. 

Tbis binting, keener appetite to know 

Awaked ; and as we talked, and mucb admired 

\Miat new we tbere sbould learn, we basted each 

To notuisb virtue to perfection up, 

That we might have omi wondering resolved. 

And leave of louder praise to greater deeds 

Of loving kindness due. Mysterious love ! 

God was made flesh, and dwelt with men on earth ; 

Blood holy, blood divine for sinners shed ! 

My asking ends, but makes my wonder more. 

Saviour of men ! henceforth be thou my theme ; 

Redeeming love, my study day and night. 

Mankind were lost, all lost, and all redeemed ! 

Thou errst again, but innocently errst, 
Not knowing sin's depravity, nor man's 
Sincere and persevering wickdness. 
All were redeemed r Not all, or thou badst beard 
Xo human voice in bell. Many refused, 
Although beseeched, refused to be redeemed, 
Redeemed from death to life, from wo to bliss ! 

Canst thou believe my song when thus I sing ? 
Wbei man bad fallen, was mined, hopeless, lost— 
Ye choral harps ! ye angels that excel 
In strength ! and loudest, ye redeemed of men I 
To God, to Him that sits upon the throne 



185 



On high, and to the Lamb, sing honor, sing 
Dominion, glory, blessing siag, and praise ! — 
When man had fallen, was mined, hopeless, lost, 
Messiah, Prince of Peace, Eternal King, 
Died, that the dead might Uve, the lost be saved. 
Wonder, O heavens ! and be astonished, earth ! 
Thou ancient, thou forgotten earth! ye worlds, aa- 

mire! 
Admire and be confoTinded! and thou hell, 
Deepen thy eternal groan! — ^men wo\ild not be 
Redeemed, — I speak of many, not of all, — 
Wo\ild not be saved for lost, have Life for death! 

Mysterious song! the new-arrived exclaimed, 
Mysterioxis mercy.' most mysterious hate! 
To disobey was mad, this madder far, 
Incurable insanity of will! 
What now but wrath could guilty men expect ? 
What more could love, what more could mercy do ? 



No more, restuned the bard, no more they covdd. j 

Jfhou hast seen hell. The wicked there lament ! ! 

And why ? for love and mercy twice despised. ; 

The husbandman, who sluggishly forgot j 

In spring to plough and sow, could censure none, | 

Thovigh winter clamored round his empty bams. i 

But he who, having thus neglected, did I 

Refuse, when autumn came, and famine threatened 
To reap the golden held that charity r 

Bestowed ; nay, more obdurate, proud, and blind. 
And stupid still, refused, though much beseecl td, i 

And long entreated, even mth Mercy's tears, j 

To oat what to his very lips was held. 
Cooked temptingly, — he certainly, at least, 
Deserved to die of hunger, unbemoaned. 
So did the wicked spurn the grace of God j 
16* 



186 THE couRSi; or time. 

A-nd so were punished with the second death- 

The first, no doubt, pvmition less severe 

Intended ; death, belike, of all entire. 

But this incurred, by God discharged, and life 

Freely presented, and again despised, 

Despised, though bought with Mercy's proper blood i 

'Twas this dug hell, and kindled all its bounds 

With wrath and unextinguishable fire. 

Free was the offer, free to all, of life 
And of salvation ; but the proud of heart, 
Because 'twas free, would not accept ; and still 
To merit wished ; and choosing, thus unshipped, 
Uncompassed, unprovisioncd, and bestormed, 
To swim a sea of breadth itnmeasiirable. 
They scorned the goodly bark, whose wings the breatli 
Of God's eternal Spirit filled for heaven, 
That stopped to take them in, — and so were lost! 

What wonders dost thou tell ! to merit how ! 
Of creature meriting in sight of God, 
As right of service done, I never heard 
Till now. We never fell ; in virtue stood 
Upright, and persevered in holiness; 
But stood by grace, by grace we persevered. 
Ovirselves, our deeds, our holiest, highest deeds, 
Unworthy aught ; grace worthy endless praifie. 
If we fly swift, obedient to his will, 
He gives us wings to fly ; if we resist 
Temptation, and ne'er fall, it is his shield 
Omnipotent that wards it off" ; if we. 
With love tmquenchable, before him bum, 
'Tis he that lights and keeps ahve the flame. 
Men surely lost their reason in their f|P, 
Ani did not understmd the oifer made. 



18? 



They might have understood, the bard replied ; 
rhcy had the Bible. Hast thou ever heard 
Of such a book ? The author, God himself; 
The subject, God and man, salvation, life 
And death — etema. life, eternal death — 
Dread words ! whose meaning has no end, no bounds- 
Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord! 
Star of eternity! the only star 
By which the bark of man could navigate 
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss 
Secvirely! only star which rose on Time, 
And on its dark and troubled billows, still, 
As generation, drifting swiftly by, 
Succeeded generation, threw a ray 
Of heaven's o\mi light, and to the hills of God, 
The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye. 
By prophets, seers, and priests, and sacred bards. 
Evangelists, apostles, men inspired. 
And by the Holy Ghost anointed, set 
Apart and consecrated to declare 
To Earth the counsels of the Eternal One, 
This book, this holiest, this sublimest book 
Was sent. Heaven's will, Heaven's code of laws entire, 
To man, this book contained ; defined the bounds 
Of vice and virtue, and of life and death ; 
And what was shadow, what was substance taught. 
Much it revealed ; important all ; the least 
Worth more than what else seemed of highest worth, 
But this of plainest, most essential truth : 
That God is one, eternal, holy, just. 
Omnipotent, omniscient, infinite ; 
Most wise, most good, most merciful and true ; 
In all perfection most unchangeable : 
That man, that every man of every clime 
And hue, of every age and every rauk, 
Was bad, by nature and by practice bad ; 



188 THE COURSE OP IIME. 

In understanding blind, in will perverse, 

In heart corrupt ; in every thought, and word. 

Imagination, passion, and desire, 

Most utterly depraved throiighout, and ill. 

In sight of Heaven, though less in sight of man j 

At enmity with God his maker bom, 

And by his very Ufe an heir of death : 

That man, that every man was, farther, most 

Unable to redeem liimself, or pay 

One mite of his vast debt to God ; nay, more. 

Was most reluctant and averse to be 

Redeemed, and sin's most voluntary slave : 

That Jesus, Son of God, of Mary bom 

In Bethlehem, and by Pilate crucified 

On Calvary, for man, thus fallen and lost, 

Died ; and, by Death, life and salvation bought, 

And perfect righteousness, for all who shoidd 

In his great name believe : That He, the third 

In the eternal essence, to the prayer 

Sincere should come, should come as soon as asked 

Proceeding from the Father and the Son, 

To give faith and repentance, such as God 

Accepts ; to open the intellectual eyes, 

Blinded by sin ; to bend the stubborn wiU, 

Perversely to the side of WTong inclined, 

To God and his commandments, just and good ; 

The wild, rebellious passions to subdue. 

And bring them back to harmony with Heayen ; 

To pvirify the conscience, and to lead 

The mind into all truth, and to adorn 

With every holy ornament of grace. 

And sanctify the whole renewed soul, 

Which henceforth might no more fall totally. 

But persevere, though erring oft, amidst 

The mists of Time, in piety to God, 

And sacred works of ckarity to mea : 



189 



That he who thiis believed, and practised thus, 
Should have his sins forgiven, however vile ; 
Should be sustained at mid-day, mom, and even, 
By God's omnipotent, eternal grace ; 
And in the evil hour of sore disease, 
Temptation, persecution, war, and death, — 
For temporal death, although unstinged, remained, - 
Beneath the shadow of the Almighty's winga 
Should sit unhuit, and at the judgment day, 
Should share the resiurection of the just, 
And reign with Christ in bliss for evermore : 
That all, however named, however great, 
Who would not thus believe, nor practise thus, 
But in their sins impenitent remained. 
Should in perpetual fear and terror Hve ; 
Should die unpardoned, xmredeemed, unsaved ; 
And, at the hour of doom, should be cast out 
To utter darkness in the night of hell. 
By mercy and by God abandoned, there 
To reap the harvests of eternal wo. 

This did that book declare in obvious phrase, 
In most sincere and honest words, by God 
Himself selected and arranged, so clear. 
So plain, so perfectly distinct, that none 
Who read with humble wish to understand. 
And asked the Spirit, given to all who asked. 
Could miss their meaning, blazed in heavenly ligh^ 

This book, this holy book, on every line 
Marked -with the seal of high divinity, 
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love 
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry 
And signature of God Almighty stamped 
From first to last, this ray of sacred light, 
This lamp, from off the everlasting throne. 



t90 THB COVKSE OF TUCB. 

Mercy took down, and, in the night of Time 
Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow ; 
And evermore beseeching men, with tears 
And earnest sighs, to read, believe, and live. 
And many to her voice gave ear, and read. 
Believed, obeyed ; and now, as the Amen, 
True, Faithful Witness swore, with snowy robes 
And branchy palms, STirround the fount of life. 
And drink the streams of immortality, 
For ever happy, and for ever young. 

Many believed ; but more the truth of God 
Turned to a lie, deceiving and deceived ; 
Each with the accursed sorcery of sin, 
To his own wish and vile propensity 
Transforming still the meaning of the text. 

Hear, while I briefly tell what mortals proved, 
By effort vast of ingenuity, 
Most wondrous, though perversa and damnable, 
Proved from the Bible, which, as thou hast heardj 
So plainly spoke that all could imderstand. 
First, and not least in number, ai'gued some, 
From out this book itself, it was a lie, 
A fable, framed by crafty men, to cheat 
The simple herd, and make them bow the knee 
To kings and priests. These, in their wisdom, left 
The light revealed, and turned to fancies wild ; 
Maintaining loud, that ruined, helpless man, 
Needed no Saviour. Others proved that men 
Might live and die in sin, and yet be saved, 
For so it was decreed ; binding the will, 
By God left free, to unconditional. 
Unreasonable fate. Others believed 
That he who was most criminal, debased. 
Condemned, and dead, \maided might 



191 



rhe heights of virtue ; to a perfect law 

Gi%-ing a lame, half-^vay obedience, which 

By useless effort only served to show 

The impotence of hijn who vainly strove 

With finite arm to measure infinite ; 

Most useless effort, when to justify 

In sight of God it meant, as proof of faith 

Most acceptable and worthy of aU praise* 

Another held, and from the Bible held. 

He was infallible, most fallen by such 

Pretence ; that none the Scriptures, open to all. 

And most to humble-hearted, ought to read, 

But priests ; that all who ventured to disclaim 

His forged authority, Inctirred the wrath 

Of Heaven ; and he who, in the blood of such. 

Though father, mother, daughter, wife, or son. 

Imbrued his hands, did most religiotis work. 

Well pleasing to the heart of the Most High. 

Others in outward rite devotion placed, 

In meats, in drinks, in robe of certain shape. 

In bodily abasements, bended knees ; 

Days, numbers, places, vestments, words, and names 

Absvu-dly in their hearts unagining. 

That God, like men, was pleased with outward show. 

Another, stranger and more wicked still. 

With dark and dolorous labor, ill applied. 

With many a gripe of consience, and with most 

Unhealthy and abortive reasoning, 

That brought his sanity to serious doubt, 

'^long wise and honest men, maintained that He^ 

First Wisdom, Great Messiah, Prince of Peace, 

The second of the uncreated Three, 

Was naught but man, of earthly origin : 

Thus making void the sacrifice divine, 

And leaving guilty men, God's holy law 

Still imatoned, to work them endless deathr 



192 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

These are a part ; but to relate thee all 
The monstrous, unbaptized fantasies, 
Imaginations fearfully absurd, 
Hobgoblin rites, and moon-struck reveries. 
Distracted creeds, and visionary dreams, 
More bodiless and hideously misshapen 
Than ever fancy, at the noon of night, 
Plaj-ing at will, framed in the madman's brain. 
That from this book of simple truth were proved 
Were proved, as foolish men wore wont to prove. 
Would bring my word in doubt, and thy belief 
Stagger, though here I sit and sing, within 
The pale of txuth, where falsehood never came. 

The rest, who lost the heavenly light revealed. 
Not \\ishing to retain God in their minds. 
In darkness wandered on. Yet could they not, 
Though moral night around them drew her pall 
Of blackness, rest in utter unbelief. 
The voice within, the voice of God, that naught 
Could bribe to sleep, though steeped in sorceries 
Of hell, and much abused by whisperings 
Of evil spirits in the dark, announced 
A day of judgment and a Judge, a day 
Of misery or bliss : and, being ill 
At ease, for gods they chose them stocks and stones, 
ReptUes, and weeds, and beasts, and creeping things 
And spirits accursed, ten thousand deities ! 
Imagined worse than he who craved their peace ; 
And, bowing, worshipped these, as best beseemed, 
With midnight revelry obscene and loud. 
With dark, infernal, de-s-ilish ceremonies, 
And horrid sacrifice of hiiman flesh. 
That made the fair heavens blush. So bad was an ; 
So lost, so ruined, so depraved was man, 
Created first in God's own image fair. 



1»« 



Oh, cursed, cursed Sin ! traitor to God, 
And ruiner of man ! mother of Wo, 
A.nd Death, and Hell I wretched, yet seeking worse: 
Polluted most, yet wallowing in the mire ; 
Most mad, yet drinking Freazy's giddy cup ; 
Depth ever deepening, darkness darkening still ; 
Folly for wisdom, guilt for innocence ; 
Anguish for rapture, and for hope despair ; 
Destroyed, destro}-ing ; in tormenting, pained ; 
Unawed by wrath, by mercy unreclaimed ; 
ITiing most unsightly, most forlorn, most sad, 
Thy time on earth is passed, thy war -with God 
And holiness. But who, oh, who shall tell. 
Thy unrepentable and ruinous thoughts ! 
Thy sighs, thy groans ! who reckon thy burning tears, 
And damned looks of everlasting grief^ 
^^^lere now, with those who took their part with thee, 
Thou sittest in hell, gnawed by the eternal Worm, 
To hurt no more, on all the holy hills ! 

That those, deserting once the lamp of truth. 
Should wander ever on, from worse to worse 
Erroneously, thy wonder needs not ask ; 
But that enlightened, reasonable men. 
Knowing themselves accountable, to whom 
God spoke from heaven, and by his servants warned 
Both day and night, with earnest, pleading voice, 
Of retribution equal to their works, 
Should persevere in exU., and be lost, — 
This strangeness, this xinpardonable guilt, 
Demands an answer, which my song unfolds. 
In part, directly ; but, hereafter, more, 
To satisfy thy wonder, thou shalt learn. 
Inferring much from what is yet to sing. 

Know, then, of men who sat in highest pl^ioa^ 
£xalted, and frr sin by otkers doue 
17 



194 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Were chargeable, the king and priests were chief 
Many were iaitliful, holy, just, upright, 
Faithful to God iind man, reigning renowned 
In righteousness, and, to the people, loud 
And tearless, speaking all the words of life. 
These, at the judgment- day, as thou shalt hear, 
Abundant harvest reaped. But many, too, 
Alas, how many ! famous now in hell. 
Were ^\ieked, cruel, tjTannous, and vile ; 
Ambitioujs of themselves, abandoned, mad ; 
And still from servants hasting to be gods, 
Such gods as now they serve in Erebus. 
I pass their lewd example by, that led 
So many -wTong, for courtly fashion lost, 
And prove them guilty of one crime alone. 
Of every \>icked ruler, prince supreme, 
Or magistrate below, the one intent. 
Purpose, desire, and struggle, day and night. 
Was evermore to ^v^est the crown from off 
Messiah's head, and put it on his o^vn ; 
And in His place give spiritual laws to men ; 
To bind religion, free by birth, by God 
And nature free, and made accountable 
To none but God, behind the wlieels of state ; 
To make the holy altar, where the Prince 
Of life, incarnate, bled to ransom man, 
A footstool to the throne. For this they met. 
Assembled, counselled, meditated, planned ; 
Devised in open and secret ; and for this 
Enacted creeds of wondrous texture, creeds 
The Bible never owned, unsanctioned too, 
And reprobate in heaven ; but, by the powCT 
That made, — exerted now in gentler form. 
Monopolizing rights and privileges, 
Ecjual to aD. and waving now the sword 
Of yersecutiou tierce, tempe/ed in heU, — 



196 



Forced on tlie conscience of inferior men 
The conscience, that sole monarchy in 
Owing allegiance to no earthly prince ; 
Made by the edict of creation free ; 
Made sacred, made above all human laws ; 
Holding of heaven alone ; of most divine 
And indefeasible authority ; 
An individual sovereignty, that none 
Created might, unpunished, bind or touch ; 
Unbound, save by the eternal laws of God, 
And unamenable to all below. 

Thus did the imcircumcised potentates 
Of earth debase religion in the sight 
Of those they ruled, who, looking up, behela 
The fair celestial gift despised, enslaved 
And, mimickuig the folly of the great, 
With prompt docility despised her too. 

The prince or magistrate, however named 
Or praised, who, knowing better, acted thus, 
Was wicked, and received, as he deserved. 
Damnation. But the unfaithful priest, what tongxie 
Enough shall execrate ? His doctrine may 
Be passed, though mixed with most unhallowed leaven, 
That proved, to those who foolishly partook. 
Eternal bitterness. But this was still 
His sin, beneath what cloak soever veiled. 
His ever growing and perpetual sin. 
First, last, and middle thought, whence every wish. 
Whence every action rose, and ended both : 
To mount to place, and power of worldly sort ; 
To ape the gaudy pomp and eqtiipage 
Of earthly state, and on his mitred brow 
To place a roya^ crown. For this he sold 
The sacrca truth to him who most would give 



196 THE COtTRSE OP TIME. 

Of titles, benefices, honors, names ; 
For this betrayed his Master ; and for this 
Made merchandise of the immortal souls 
Committed to his care. This was his sin. 

Of all who office held unfairly, none 
(^ould plead excuse ; he least and last of alL 
By solemn, awful ceremony, he 
Was set apart to speak the truth entire, 
By action and by word ; and round him stood 
The people, from his lips expecting knowledge. 
One day in seven, the Holy Sabbath termed, 
They stood ; for he had sworn, in face of God 
And man, to deal sincerely with their soids ; 
To preach the gospel for the gospel's sake ; 
Had sworn to hate and put away all pride, 
All vanity, all love of earthly pomp ; 
To seek all mercy, meekness, truth, and grace ; 
And being so endowed himself, and taught. 
In them like works of holiness to move ; 
Dividing faithfully the word of life. 
And oft indeed the word of life he taught ; 
But practising as thou hast heard, who could 
Believe ! Thus was Religion wotmded sore 
At her o%vn altars, and among her Mends. 
The people went away, and, like the priest, 
Fulfilling what the prophet spoke before. 
For honor strove, and wealth, and place, as if 
The preacher had rehearsed an idle tale. 
The enemies of God rejoiced, and loud 
The unbeliever laughed, boasting a life 
Of fairer character than his who owned, 
For king and guide, the undefiled One. 

Most guilty, villainous, dishonest man 1 
Wolf in the clothing of the gentle Iamb ! 



197 



Diirk traitor in Messiah's holy camp ! 
Leper in saintly garb ! assassin masked 
In Virtue's robe ! vile hypocrite accursed ! 
I strive in vain to set his evil forth ! 
The words that should sufficiently accurse 
And execrate such reprobate, had need 
Come glow'ing from the lips of eldest hell. 
Among the saddest in the den of y\'o, 
Thou sawst him saddest, 'mong the daiuied moSi 
damned. 

But why should I with indignation bmn, 
Not well beseeming here, and long forgot r 
Or why one censure for another's sin r 
Each had his conscieme, each his reason, will^ 
And vmderstanding, for himself to search, 
To choose, reject, believe, consider, act. 
And God proclaimed from heaven, and by an oath. 
Confirmed, that each should answer for himself : 
And as his owti peculiar work should be, 
Done by his proper self, should live or die. 
But sin, deceitful and decei^'ing still. 
Had gained the heart, and reason led astray. 

A strange beKef, that leaned its idiot back 
On folly's topmost twig, — belief that God, 
Most wise, had made a world, had creatures madt 
Beneath his care tp govern and protect, — 
Devoured its thousands. Reason, not the true. 
Learned, deep, sober, comprehensive, sound ; 
But bigoted, one-eyed, short-sighted Reason, 
Most zealous, and sometimes, no doubt, sincere, 
Devoiired its thousands. Vanity to be 
Reno\vned for creed eccentrical, devoured 
Its thousands ; but a lazy, corpulent. 
And over-credulous faith, that leaned on ail 
17* 



:.98 THE COXJKSB OF TQCB. 

It met, nor asked if 'tvvas a reed or oak ; 
Stepped on, but never earnestly inqxiired 
WTiether to heaven or hell the journey led, 
Devoured its tens of thousands, and its hands 
Made reddest in the precious blood of souls. 

In Time's pursuits men ran till out of breath. 

The astronomer soared up, and counted stars, 

And gazed, and gazed upon the heaven's bright fac«^ 

TiU he dropped down dim- eyed into the grave. 

The nimierist, in calcidations deep, 

Grew gray. The merchant at his desk expired. 

'fhe statesman hunted for another place, 

rill death o'ertook him, and made him his prey. 

The miser spent his eldest energy 

In grasping for another mite. The scribe 

Rubbed pensively his old and withered brow. 

Devising new impediments to hold 

In doubt the suit that threatened to end too so<»i. 

The priest collected tithes, and pleaded rights 

Of decimation to the very last. 

In science, learning, all philosophy. 

Men labored all their days, and labored hard. 

And, djing, sighed how little they had done. 

But in religion, they at once grew wise. 

A creed in print, though never understood ; 

A theologic system on the shelf, 

Was spiritual lore enough, and served their turn ; 

But served it ill. They sinned, and never knew. 

For what the Bible said of good and bad. 

Of holiness and sin, they never asked. 

Absurd, prodigiously absiird, to think 
That man's minute and feeble faculties. 
Even in the very childhood of his being. 
With mortal shadows dimmed and wrapped around 



191 



Could comprehend at once the mighty scheme, 

Where rolled the ocean of eternal love ; 

Where wisdom iniinite its master-stroke 

Displayed ; and where omnipotence, oppressed. 

Did travail in the greatness of its strength ; 

And everltisting Justice lifted up 

The sword to smite the guiltless Son of God ; 

And Mercy smiling bade the sinner go ! 

Redemption is the science and the song 

Of all eternity. Archangels, day 

And night, into its glories look. The saints. 

The elders roimd the Throne, old in the years 

Of heaven, examine it perpetually ; 

And, every hoiir, get clearer, ampler views 

Of right and wTong ; see \'irtue's beauty more ; 

See vice more utterly depraved and vile ; 

And this, with a more perfect hatred, hate ; 

That daily love with a more perfect love. 

But whether I for man's perdition blame 
Office administered amiss, pursuit 
Of pleasure fadse, perverted reason blind. 
Or indolence that ne'er inquired ; I blame 
Effect and consequence, the branch, the leaf. 
"Who finds the fount and bitter root, the first 
And guiltiest cause whence spnmg this endless wa 
Must deep descend into the human heart, 
And find it there. Dread passion ! making men 
On earth, and even in hell, if Mercy yet 
Would stoop so low, unwilling to be saved^ 
If saved by grace of God. Hear, then, in brie^ 
What peopled hell, what holds its prisoners therfv 

Pride, self- adoring pride, was primal cause 
Of all sin passed, aU pain, all wo to come. 
"Unconquerable pride ! first, eldest sin. 



iOO THE course; of timb. 

Great fonntain-h«i(l of evil ! highest source, 

^\*hen:•c flowed rebellion 'gainst the Omnipoient» 

Whence hate oi man to man, aud all else ilL 

Pride at the bottom of the human heart 

Lay, and gave root and nourishment to all 

That grew above. Great ancestor of vice ! 

Hate, unbelief, and blasphemy of God; 

Envy and slander, malice and revenge ; 

And murder, and deceit, and every birth 

Of damned sort, was progeny of pride. 

It was the ever- moving, acting force, 

The constant aim, and the most thirsty wish 

Of every sinner unrenewed, to be 

A god ; in purple or in rags, to have 

Himself adored. Wliatever shape or form 

His actions took, whatever phrase he threw 

About liis thoughts, or mantle o'er his life. 

To be the highest, was the inward cause 

Of all ; the purpose of the heart to be 

Set up, admired, obeyed. But who would bow ' 

The knee to one who served and Avas dependent ? 

Hence man's perpetual struggle, night and day, < 

To prove he was his own proprietor, I 

And independent of his God ; that what j 

He had might be esteemed his own, and praised 

As such. He labored still, and tried to stand 

Alone, unpropped, to be obliged to none ; 

And in the madness of his pride, he bade 

His God farewell, and turned away to be 

A god l\imself ; resolving to rely. 

Whatever came, upon his own right hand. 



O desperate frenzy ! madness of the will ! 
And drunkenness of the heart ! that naught coula 
quench. 



20\ 



But floods of wo, poured from the sea of wratH* 

Behind which mercy set. To think to turn 

The back on life original, and live ! 

The creature to set up a rival throne 

In the Creator's realm ! to deify 

A worm ! and in the sight of God be proud 

To lift an arm of flesh against the shafts 

Of the Omnipresent, and, midst his wrath, 

To seek for happiness ! — insanity 

Most mad ! guilt most complete ! Seest thou those 

worlds 
That roll at various distance roimd the throne 
Of God, innimierous, and All the calm 
Of heaven with sweetest harmony, when saints 
And angels sleep ? As one of these, from love 
Centripetal withdrawing, and from Kght, 
And heat, and nourishment cut off, should rush 
Abandoned o'er the line that runs between 
Create and increate, from ruin driven 
To ruin still, through the abortive waste ; 
So pride from God drew oft the bad ; and so, 
Forsaken of him, he lets them erra try 
Tneir single arm against the second death ; 
Amidst vindictive thimders lets them try 
The stoutness of their hearts, and lets them try 
To quench their thirst amidst the \mfading fire ; 
And to reap joy where he has sown despair ; 
To walk alone, imguided, imbemoaned, 
WTiere Evil dwells, and Death, and moral Night ; 
In utter emptiness to find enough ; 
In utter dark find light ; and find repose, 
Where God with tempest plagues for evermore. 
For so they wished it, so did pride desire. 

Such was the cause that turned so many off 
Rebelliously from God, and led them on 



102 THS 00T7ILSE 07 TOOL 

From vain to vainer still, in endless chase. 
And such the cause that made so many cheeks 
Pale, and so many knees to shake, when men 
Bose from the grave ; as thou shait hear anon. 



COURSE OF TIME 
BOOK m. 



1 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK HI. 



The Bara proceeds to a mora full description of the " vays ot 
Time," " the fond pursuits and vanities of men." Desire oi 
happiness was universal in every age; but ibe star ol' Gih] 
shining upon the only path to it was not heeded. The Bible 
taught that happiness was indissolubly conneeied with vtrme ; 
that it was a fruit to be gathered only fro»» the tree «>i" hoii- 
iiess, uprooted by ihe apostacy, but planted again by ilie Son 
of God, and nourished by the dewy intiuences oJ the Spirit. 
But, disregarding this, men pursued happiness m ten thousaml 
mistaken routes, grasping at lyuig shades umil the grave re- 
ceived them. Many "sweat ani bled for GoLi>;'' n;<>si for 
ihe luxuries it bought, but some with the miser's craving ava- 
rice. Blinded votaries also chased the Shadow Pleasuue; 
who, with her thousand changing forms and varying robes, 
allured to her thousand fatal haunts ; to the hall of giddy tlaiace, 
ihe scene of thoughtless revel, the harlot's treacherous bed. 
Another Phantom fleeting in the mist of time was EAainL'v 
Fame, whose voice of empty breath oft deceived ihe men ol 
science, and the poet, the reverend divme, the simple ani.-iuii, 
the vain fair one, the haughty warrior, the proud usurper. 
Even the Drmikard's bowl and the Skeptic's lielmless l»ark 
were tried in the wild pursuit of happiness. This was done, 
too, notwithstanding the warning voice of wisdom speak nig to 
man loudly in the Seasons, the Day, the Night, the Grave, the 
Word of God ; notwithstanding all the pangs of Remorse, anu 
all the sorrows of Disappointment. Against these, reekic.s* 
men closed their ears and iheir hearts, umil Death revtaie»l lo 
each his folly, and too late convinced hiui of the grand lesson 
of the Bible, " Eternity is all." 

Id the description of Disappointment ihe Authoi is happily 
mtroduced, and raentioa made of interesting circuuisUincea in 
hiS history. 



TDK 

COURSE OF IIMB 

BOOK III. 

Beholdst thou yonder, on the crystal sea, 
Beneath the throne of God, an image fair. 
And in its hand a mirror large and bright ? 
Tis truth, immutable, eternal truth, 
In figure emblematical expressed. 
Before it Virtue stands, and smiling sees. 
Well pleased, in her reflected soul, no spot. 
The sons of heaven, archangel, seraph, saint. 
There daily read their own essiientia- worth ; 
Ajid, as they read, take place among the just , 
Or high, or low, each as his value seems. 
There each his certain interest learns, his true 
Capacity ; and, going thence, pursues. 
Unerringly, through all the tracts of thought. 
As God ordains, best ends by wisest means 

The Bible held this mirror's place on earth 
But, few wovdd read, or, reading, saw themselves. 
The chase was after shadows, phantoms strange. 

Chat in the twilight walked of Time, and mocked 

The eager h\int, escaping evermore ; 

Yet with so many promises and looks 

Of gentle sort, that he whose arms returned 

Empty a thousand times, still stretched them out, 

^nd, grasping, brought them back again xmfilled. 
18 



MS ISB oorxss or tdcb. 

In rapid outiiie tiion hast heard of maiv 
TTis death, his oS'ered life, tha,* life by mcssl 
Despise-d, the ^^ar of G-od, the Bible, scorned. 
That else to happiness and heaven had led. 
And saved mr lyre from rj^rrative of wo. 
Hear now more largely of the ways of Time, 
The fond pmsoits and vanities of men. 

•* Love G-od, love tmth. love virtue, and be happy ; " 
Tuese were the words Srs;: nttered in the ear 
Of every being rational made, and made 
For thought, or word, or deed acconntable. 
Most men the nrsit forgot, the second none. 
Whatever path they took, by hill or rale. 
By night or day, the universal wish. 
The fi^Tr\, and sole intent, was happineHB, 
But. erring from the heaven -appointed pa^ 
Strange tracks indeed they took through harre» wa^ea, 
And up the sandy mountain climbing toiled, 
"Which pining lay beneath the curse of G-od, 
And naught produced- Yet did the traveller look 
And point his eye before him greedily, 
As if he saw some verdant spot, where grew 
The heavenly fl.ower, where sprung the well of life, 
Wkere vaiatodted felicity reposed : 
" PHMg li 'WsdoBQ^B eye no vestige could discern. 
Thai H&ppines had ever paased that way. 



wv n|^ for Bd& the 




True peftce was given to naa, WBehanged as G^ 

"Who, in his own 

EtemalTy to Tiztoe' 

Xar IstB tiieoi p>Et '&nMi^ all his uuifuuB. 



r, 8B t^ou Shalt hea^ -wheB. she 
SbaH hxrt her praise, her pndse and censure to(H 



2o: 



Did mucli, refining and exalting man ; 

But could not nurse a single plant that bore 

True happiness. From age to age she toiled- 

Shed from her eyes the mist that dimmed them still, 

Looked forth on man, explored the wild and tamt. 

The savage and polite, the sea and land. 

And starry heavens ; and then retired far back 

To meditation's silent, shady seat ; 

Ajud there sat pale, and thoughtfully, and weighed 

With wary, most exact, and scrupulous care 

Man's nature, passions, hopes, propensities, 

Relations, and pursuits, in reason's scale ; 

Ajid searched and weighed, and weighed and search* 

ed again, 
Ajid many a fair and goodly volume wrote. 
That seemed weU worded too, wherein were found 
Uncountable receipts, pretending each. 
If carefully attended to, to cure 
Mankind of folly, to root out the briers, 
And thorns, and weeds, that choked the growth of joy , 
And showing too, in plain and decent phrase, 
Which sounded much like Wisdom's, how to plant, 
To shelter, water, culture, prune, and rear 
The tree of happiness ; and oft their plans 
Were tried ; but still the fniit was green and sour. 

Of all the trees that in Earth's vineyard grew. 
And with their clusters tempted man to pull 
And eat, one tree, one tree alone, the true 
Celestial manna bore, which filled the soul. 
The tree of holiness, of heavenly seed, 
A native of the skies ; though stunted much 
And dwarfed, by Time's cold, damp, ungenial soU, 
And chilling winds, yet yielding fruit so pure, 
So nourishing and sweet, as, on his way, 
ELefreshed the pilgrim ; and begot desire 



208 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Unquenchable to climb the arduous path 
To where her sister plants, in their own clin/e 
Around the foimt, and by the stream of life, 
Blooming beneath the Sun that never sets, 
Bear fruit of perfect relish fully ripe. 

To plant this tree, uprooted by the fall, 
To earth the Son of God descended, shed 
Ilis precious blood ; and on it evermore, 
From off his living wings, the Spuit shook 
The dews of heaven, to nurse and hasten its growth 
Nor was this care, this infinite expense, 
Not needed to secure the holy plant. 
To root it out, and wither it from earth, 
Hell strove with all its strength, and blow with all 
Its blasts ! and Sin, -with cold, consumptive breath. 
Involved it still in clouds of mortal damp. 
Yet did it grow, thus kept, protected thus ; 
And bear the only fruit of true delight ; 
The only fruit worth plucking under heaven. 

But few, alas ! the holy plant could see. 
For heavy mists that Sin around it threw 
Perpetually ; and few the sacrifice 
Would make, by which alone its clusters stooped, 
And came within the reach of mortal man. 
For this, of Vn'm who would approach and eat. 
Was rigorously exacted to the fiill : 
To tread and bruise beneath the foot the wond 
Entire ; its prides, ambitions, hopes, desires ; 
Its gold and all its 'broidered equipage ; 
To loose its loves and friendships from the heart. 
And cast them off ; to shut the ear against 
Its praise, and all its flatteries abhor ; 
And, having thus behind him thrown what scorned 
So good and fair, then must he loAvly kneel, 



20» 



Aoid -with sincerity, in which the Eye 

That slumbers not, nor sleeps, could see no lack, 

This prayer pray : ♦' Lord, God ! thy will be don^ 

Thy holy A\ill, howe'er it cross my own." 

Hard labor this for flesh and blood ! too hard 

For most it seemed. So, turning, they the tree 

Derided as mere bramble, that could bear 

No fruit of special taste ; and so set out 

Upon ten thousand different routes to seek 

What they had left behind, to seek what they 

Had lost. For still as something once possessed 

And lost, true happiness appeared. All thought 

They once were happy ; and even while they smoked 

And panted in the chase, believed themselves 

More miserable to-day than yesterday, 

To-morrow than to-day. When youth complained. 

The ancient sinner shook his hoary head, 

As if he meant to say. Stop till you come 

My length, and then you may have catise to sigh. 

At twenty, cried the boy, who now had seen 

Some blemish in his joys. How happily 

Plays yonder child that busks the mimic babe, 

And gathers gentle flowers, and never sighs ! 

At forty, in the fervor of pvirsuit. 

Far on in disappointment's dreary vale, 

The grave and sage-like man looked back upon 

The stripling youth of plump unseared hope, 

WTio galloped gay and briskly up behind, 

And, moaning, wished himself eighteen again. 

And he of threescore years and ten, in whose 

Chilled eye, fatigued -with gaping after hope. 

Earth's freshest verdure seemed but blasted leaves. 

Praised childhood, youth, and manhood ; and de* 

noimced 
Old age alone as barren of all joy. 
Dicisive proof that men had le^t tehind 
18* 



ElO THE COoUSE OF UMB 

The happiness they sought, and taken a most 
Erroneous path ; since every step they took 
Was deeper mire. Yet did they onward run. 
Pursuing Hope that danced before them still, 
Ajid beckoned them to proceed ; and with their hania, 
That shook and trembled piteously with age, 
Grasped at the lying Shade, even tiU the earth 
Beneath them broke, and wrapped them in the grave. 

Sometimes indeed, when Wisdom in their ear , 
Whispered, and with its disenchanting wand. 
Effectually touched the sorcery of their eyes, 
Directly pointing to the holy tree, 
Where grew the food they sought, they turned, sur- 
prised, 
That they had missed so long what now they found, 
As one upon whose mind some new and rare 
Idea glances, and retires as quick, 
Ere memory has time to write it down ; 
Stung with the loss, into a thoughtful cast 
He throws liis face, and riil)s his vexed brow ; 
Searches each nook and corner of his soul 
With frequent care ; reflects, and re-reflects, 
And tries to touch relations that may start 
The fugitive again ; and oft is foiled ; 
TiU something like a seeming chance, or flight 
Of random fancy, when expected least. 
Calls back the wandered thought, long sought in vain ; 
Then does uncommon joy till all his mind ; 
And still he wonders, as he holds it fast, 
What lay so near he could not sooner find : 
So did the man rejoice, when from his eye 
The film of folly fell, and what he, day 
And night, and far and near, had idly searched. 
Sprung up before him suddenly displayed ; 
So wondered why he missed ihxi tree so long. 



21i 



But, few retimied from Folly's giddy chase, 
Few heard the voice of Wisdom, or obeyed. 
Keen was the search, and various and divide, 
Without, within, along the flowery vale, 
And up the rugged cliif, and on the top 
Of mountains high, and on the ocean wave. 
Keen was the search, and various, and wide, 
And ever and anon a shout was heard : 
" Ho! here's the tree of life! come, eat, and live! " 
And roxmd the new discoverer quick they flocked 
In multitudes, and plucked, and with great haste 
Devoured; and sometimes in the lips 'twas sweet, 
And promised well ; but in the belly gall. 
Yet after him that cried again, " Ho ! here's 
The tree of life!" again they ran, and pulled, 
And chewed again, and fotmd it bitter still. 
From disappointment on to disappointment, 
Year after year, age after age, pursued. 
The child, the youth, the hoary-headed man. 
Alike pursued, and ne'er grew wise. For it 
Was folly's most peculiar attribute, 
And native act, to make experience void- 



But hastily, as pleasures tasted, turned 
To loathing and disgust, they needed not 
Even such experiment to prove them vain. 
In hope or in possession, Fear, alike, 
Boding disaster, stood. Over the flower 
Of fcdrest sort, that bloomed beneath the sun. 
Protected most, and sheltered from the storm, 
The Spectre, like a dark and thxinderous cloud. 
Hung dismally, and threatened, before the hand 
Of him that wished could pull it, to descend. 
And o'er the desert drive its withered leaves ; 
Or, being pulled, to blast it unenjoyed. 



212 THK COURSE OP TIMB. 

WTiile ret lie gazed upon its loveliness. 
And just began to drink its fragrance up. 

Gold many hunted, sweat and bled for gold ; 
"Waked all the night, and labored all the day. 
And what was this allurement, dost thou ask ? 
A dust dug from the bowels of the earth, 
"Which, being cast into the fire, came out 
A shining thing that fools admired, and called 
A god ; and in devout and humble plight 
Before it kneeled, the greater to the less ; 
And on its altar sacrificed ease, peace, 
Truth, faith, integrity ; good conscience, frieiui% 
Love, charity, benevolence, and all 
The sweet and tender sj-mpathies of life ; 
And, to complete the horrid murderous rite, 
And signalize their folly, offered up 
llieir souls and an eternity of bliss. 
To gain them — what : — an hour of dreaming joy, 
A feverish hoxir, that hasted to be done. 
And ended in the bitterness of wo. 

Most, for the luxuries it bought, the pomp. 
The praise, the glitter, fashion, and renown, 
This yellow phantom followed and adored. 
But there was one in foUy fe.rther gone. 
With eye awry, incurable, and wild. 
The laughing-stock of de\als and of men, 
And by his guardian angel quite given up,— 
The miser, who with dust inanimate 
Held wedded intercourse. HI guided wretch ! 
Thou mightst have seen him at the midnight hoiir. 
When good men slept, and in light winged dreams 
Ascended up to God, — in wasteful hall. 
With vigilance and fasting worn to skin 
And bone, and wrapped in most debasing rags,— 



.-=Ji 



213 



rhou mightst have seen him bending o'er his heap* 

And holding strange communion >N'ith his gold ; 

And, as his tlue^'ish fancy seemed to hear 

The night-man's foot approach, starting alarmed, 

And in his old, decrepit, withered hand. 

Thai palsy shook, grasping the yellow earth 

To make it svire. Of all God made upright, 

And in their nostrils breathed a living soul. 

Most fallen, most prone, most earthy, most debased ; 

Of all that sold Eternity for Time, 

None bargained on so easy terms with Death. 

Illtistriou5 fool ! nay, most inhuman wretch ! 

He sat among his bags, and, with a look 

Which hell might be ashamed of^ drove the poor 

Away xmalmsed, and midst abimdance died. 

Sorest of evils ! died of utter want. 

Before this Shadow, in the vales of earth, 
Fools saw another glide, which seemed of more 
Intrinsic worth- Pleasure her name ; good name, 
Though ill applied. A thousand forms she took, 
A thoxisand garbs she wore ; in every age 
And clime, changing, as in her votaries changed 
Desire ; but, inwardly, the same in alL 
Her most essential lineaments we trace ; 
Her general features everywhere alike. 

Of comely form she was, and fair of face 
And vmdemeath her eyelids Swt a kind 
Of witching sorcery that nearer drew 
Whoever, with unguarded look, beheld : 
A dress of gaudy hue loosely attired 
Her loveliness ; her air and manner frank. 
And seeming free of all disguise ; her song 
Enchanting ; and her words, which sweetly dropped, 
ka honey from the comb, most large of promise, 



214 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Still prophesying days of new delight, 
And rapturous nights of undecaj^ing joy ; 
And in her hand, where'er she went, she held 
A radiant cup that seemed of nectar full ; 
And by her side, danced fair, delusive Hope. 
The fool pursued, enamored ; and the wise, 
Experienced man, who reasoned much and thought, 
Was sometimes seen laying his wisdom down. 
And vying with the stripling in the chase. 

Nor wonder thou, for she was really fair. 
Decked to the very taste of flesh and blood. 
And many thought her sound within, and gay 
And healthy at the heart : but thought amiss. 
For she was full of all disease : her bones 
Were rotten ; Consumption licked her blood, and dranK 
Her marrow up ; her breath smelled mortally ; 
And in her bowels 'plague and fever lurked ; 
And in her very heart, and reins, and life. 
Corruption's worm gnawed greedily unseen. 

Many her haunts. Thou mightst have seen her now 
With Indolence, lolling on the mid-day couch. 
And whispering drowsy words ; and now at dawn. 
Loudly and rough, joining the sylvan horn ; 
Or sauntering in the park, and to the tale 
Of slander giving ear ; or sitting fierce, 
Rude, blasphemous, malicious, raving, mad, 
Where fortune to the fickle die was bound. 

But chief she loved the scene of deep debauch. 
Where revelry, and dance, and frantic song, 
Disturbed the sleep of honest men ; and where 
The dmnkard sat, she entered in, well pleased. 
With eye brimful of wanton mirthfulness. 
And urged him still to fill another cup. 



211 



And at the shadowy trN-ilight, in the dark 
AJid gloomy nigiit, I looked, and saw her come 
Abroad, arrayed in harlot's soft attire ; 
And walk without in every street, and lie 
In wait at every comer, fuU of guile : 
And as the unwary youth of simple heart, 
And void of imderstanding, passed, she caught 
And kissed him, and with lips of lying said, 
I have peace-offerings with me ; I have paid 
My vows this day ; and therefore came I forth 
To meet thee, and to seek thee diligently, 
To seek thy face, and I have found thee here. 
My bed is decked with robes of tapestry, 
With carved work and sheets of linen fine ; 
Perfumed with aloes, myrrh, and cinnamon. 
Sweet are stolen waters ! pleasant is the bread 
In secret eaten ! the goodman is £rom home. 
Come, let us take our fill of love till mom 
Awake ; let us delight ourselves with loves. 
With much fair speech, she caused the youth to yield 
And forced him with the flattering of her tongue. 
I looked, and saw hira follow to her house, 
As goes the ox to slaughter ; as the fool 
To the correction of the stocks ; or bird 
That hastes into the subtle fowler's snare, 
And knows not, simple thing, 'tis for its life. 
I saw him enter in, and heard the door 
Behind them shut ; and in the dark, still night, 
When God's imsleeping eye alone can see, 
He went to her adulterous bed. At mom 
I looked, and saw him not among the youths. 
I heard his father mourn, his mother weep, 
For none returned that went with her. The dead 
Were in her hotise, her guests in depths of heU. 
She wove the winding-sheet of souls, and laid 
Them in the \im of everuisting death. 



116 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Such was the Shadow fools pursued on earth, 
Under the name of Pleasure ; fair outside, 
Within corrupted, and corrupting still. 
Ruined and ruinous, her sure reward, 
Her total recompense, was still, as he, 
The bard, recorder of Earth's Seasons, sung, 
" Vexation, disappointment, and remorse." 
Yet at her door the young and old, and some 
Who held high character among the wise, 
Together stood, and strove among themselves. 
Who first should enter, and be ruined first. 

Strange competition of immortal souls I 
To sweat for death ! to strive for misery ! 
But think not Pleasure told her end was death. 
Even human folly then had paused at least. 
And given some signs of hesitation ; nor 
Arrived so hot, and out of breath, at wo. 
Though contradicted every day by facts 
That sophistry itself would stumble o'er, 
And to the very teeth a liar proved. 
Ten thousand times, as if unconscious still 
Of inward blame, she stood and waved her hand, 
And pointed to her bower, and said to all 
Who passed. Take yonder flowery path, my stepi 
Attend ; I lead the smoothest way to heaven ; 
This world receive as surety for the next ; 
And many simple men, most simple, though 
Renowned for learning much, and wary skill, 
Believed, and turned aside, and were undone. 

Another leaf of finished Time we turn. 
And read of fame, terrestrial fame which died. 
And rose not at the rcsurection morn ; 
Not that by virtue earned, the true renown, 
Begun on earth, and lasting in the skies, 



BOOK lU. 217 

Worthy the lofty wish of seraphim,— 

The approbation of the Eye that sees 

The end from the beginning, sees from cause 

To most remote effect. Of it we read 

In book of God's remembrance, in the book 

Of life, from which the quick and dead were judged ; 

The book that lies upon the Throne, and tells 

Of glorious acts by saints and angels done; 

The record of the holy, just, and good. 

Of all the phantoms fleeting in the mist 
Of Time, though meagre all, and ghostly thin , 
Most xmsubstantial, unessential shade 
Was earthly Fame. She was a voice alone, 
And dwelt upon the noisy tongues of men. 
She never thought, but gabbled ever on. 
Applauding most what least deserved applause. 
The motive, the result, was naught to her. 
The deed alone, though dyed in human gore. 
And steeped in widow's tears, if it stood out 
To prominent display, she talked of much, 
And roared aroimd it with a thousand tongues. 
As changed the wind her organ, so she changed 
Perpetually ; and whom she praised to-day, 
Vexing his ear with acclamations loud. 
To-morrow blamed, and hissed him out of sight 

Such was her nature, and her practice such. 
But, O ! her voice was sweet to mortal ears. 
And touched so pleasantly the strings of pride 
And vanity, which in the heart of man 
Were ever strung harmonious to her note. 
That many thought, to live without her song 
Was rather death than life. To Kve unknown, 
Umioticed, unrenowned ! to die unpraised, 
Unepitaphed ! to go down to the pit, 
19 



218 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

And moulder into dust among vile worms. 
And leave no whispering of a name on eai th ! — 
Such thought was cold about the heart and chilled 
The blood. Who could endure it ? who could chona* 
Without a struggle, to be swept away 
From all remembrance, and have part no more 
With living men ? Philosophy failed here, 
And self-approving pride. Hence it became 
The aim of most, and main pursmt, to win 
A name, to leave some vestige as they passed. 
That following ages might discern, they once 
Had been on earth, and acted something there. 



Many the roads they took, the plans they tr«ed. 
The man of science to the shade retired. 
And laid his head upon his hand, in mood 
Of awful thoughtfulness, and dived, and dived 
Again, deeper and deeper still, to sound 
The cause remote ; resolved, before he died. 
To make some grand discovery, by which 
He should be known to all posterity. 



And in the silent vigils of the night. 
When uninspired men reposed, the bard, 
Ghastly of countenance, and from his eye 
Oft streaming vdld unearthly fire, sat up, 
And sent imagination forth, and searched 
The far and near, heavei^ earth, and gloomy hell, 
For fiction new, for thought, unthought before ; 
And when some curious, rare idea peered 
Upon his mind, he dipped liis hasty pen. 
And by the glimmering lamp, or moonlight beam 
That through his lattice peeped, wrote fondly dowA 
What seemed in truth imperishable song. 



Boox. m. 211 

And sometimes too, the reverend divine, 
In meditation deep of holy things 
And vanities of Time, heard Fame's sweet voice 
Approach his ear ; and hung another flower, 
Of earthly sort, about the sacred truth ; 
And ventured whiles to mix the bitter text, 
With relish suited to the sioner's taste. 

And oft-times too, the simple hind, who seemed 
Ambitionless, arrayed in humble garb. 
While rovmd him, spreading, fed his harmless flock, 
Sitting was seen, by some wild warbling brook, 
Carving his name upon his favorite staff ; 
Or, in ill-favored letters, tracing it 
Upon the aged thorn, or on the face 
Of some conspicuous, oft-frequented stone, 
With persevering, wondrous industry ; 
And hoping as he toiled amain, and saw 
The characters take form, some other wight. 
Long after he was dead and in the grave, 
Shoiild loiter there at noon, and read his name. 

In purple some, and some in rags, stood forth 
For reputation. Some displayed a limb 
Well-fashioned ; some, of lowlier mind, a cane 
Of curious workmanship and marvellous twist. 
In strength some sought it, and in beauty more. 
Long, long, the fair one labored at the glass. 
And, being tired, called in auxiliar skill. 
To have her sails, before she went abroad. 
Full spread and nicely set, to catch the gale 
Of praise ; and much she caught, and much descrvw^ 
When outward loveliness was index fair 
Of purity within : but oft, alas ! 
The bloom was on the skin alone ; and whet 
She saw, sad sight ! the roses on her cheek 



t20 THE COVBSB OF TDCB. 

Wither, and heard the voice of Fame retii-e 

And die away, she heaved most piteous sigha. 

And wept most lamentable tears ; and whiles, 

[n wild delirium, made rash attempt, 

CJnholy mimicry of Nature's work ! 

To re-create, with frail and mortal things, 

Her withered face. Attempt how fond and vain ! 

Her frame itself soon mouldered down to dust ; 

Ajid, in the land of deep forgetfulness. 

Her beauty and her name were laid beside 

Eternal silence and the loathsome worm ; 

Into whose darkness flattery ventured not ; 

Where none had ears to hear the voice of Fame. 

Many the roads they took, the plans they tried. 
And awful oft the >vickedness they wrought. 
To be observed, some scrambled up to thrones. 
And sat in vestures dripping wet with gore. 
The warrior dipped his sword in blood, and wrote 
His name on lands and cities desolate. 
The rich bought fields, and houses built, and raised 
The monumental piles up to the clouds. 
And called them by their names : and, strange to tell ! 
Rather than be unknown, and pass away 
Obscurely to the grave, some, small of soul. 
That else had perished unobserA^ed, acquired 
Considerable renown by oaths profane ; 
By jesting boldly with all sacred things ; 
And uttenng fearlessly whate'er occurred ; 
Wild, blasphemous, perditionable thoughts, 
That Satan in them moved ; by wiser men 
Suppressed, and quickly banished from the mind. 

Many the roads they took, the plans they tried. 
But all in vain. Who grasped at earthly fame, 
Grasped wind ; nay worse, a serpent grasped, that thro' 



221 



His hand slid smoothly, and was gone ; but left 
A sting behind which wrought him endless pain. 
For oft her voice was old Abaddon's lure, 
By which he charmed the foolish soul to death. 

So happiness was sought in pleasure, gold. 
Renown, by many sought. But should 1 sing 
Of all the trifling race, my time, thy faith 
Would fail, of things erectly organized. 
And having rational articulate voice. 
And claiming outward brotherhood with maa. 
Of him that labored sorely, in his sweat 
Smoking afar, then hurried to the wine. 
Deliberately resohing to be mad ; 
Of him who taught the ravenous bird to fly 
This way or that, thereby supremely blest ; 
Or rode in fury with the howling pack, 
Affronting much the noble animal, 
He spurred into such company ; of him 
Who down into the bowels of the earth 
Descended deeply, to bring up the wTeck 
Of some old earthen ware, which ha\'ing stowea. 
With every proper care, he home returned 
O'er many a sea, and many a league of land, 
rrionnphantly to show the marvellous prize ; 
And him that vexed his brain and theories built 
Of gossamer upon the brittle winds, 
Perplexed exceedingly why shells were found 
Upon the mountain tops, but wondering not 
Why shells were found at all, more wondrous still I 
Of him who strange enjoyment took in tales 
Of fairy folk, and sleepless ghosts, and sounds 
Unearthly, whispering in the ea" of night 
Disastrous things ; and him who still foretold 
Calamity which never came, and lived 
jx terror all his days of comets rude, 



222 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

That should tinmannerly and lawless drive 
A.thwart the path of earth, and bum mankind 
As if the appointed hour of doom, by God 
Appointed, ere its time should come ! as if 
Too small the number of substantial ills, 
And real fears, to vex the sons of men. 
These, had they not possessed immortal souls, 
And been accoiintable, might have been passed 
With laughter, and forgot ; but, as it was, 
And is, their folly asks a serious tear. 

Keen was the search, and various, and wide^ 
For happiness. Take one example more. 
So strange, that common fools looked on amazed ; 
And wise and sober men together drew. 
And trembling stood ; and angels in the heavfihs 
Grew pale, and talked of vengeance as at hand ; — 
The sceptic's route, the unbeliever's, who, 
Despising reason, revelation, God, 
And kicking 'gainst the pricks of conscience, rushed 
Deliriously upon the bossy shield 
Of the Omnipotent ; and in his heart 
Purposed to deify the idol Chance ; 
And labored hard,— oh, labor worse than naught !— 
And toiled with dark and crooked reasoning, 
To make the fair and lovely earth, which dwelt 
In sight of Heaven, a cold and fatherless. 
Forsaken thing, that wandered on, forlorn, 
Undestined, uncompassioned, unupheld ; 
A. vapor eddying in the whirl of chance, 
And soon to vanish everlastingly. 
He travailed sorely, and made many a tack, 
His sails oft shifting, to arrive, — dread thought.*' 
Arrive at utter nothingness ; and have 
Being no more, no feeling, memory, 
No lingering consciousness that e'er he was. 



_J 



BOOK nx. 223 

Quilt's midnight ^vish ! last, most abhorred thought. 
Host desperate etfort of extreinest sin ! 
Others, pre-occupied, ne'er saw true Hope i 
Be, seeing, aimed to stab her to the heart, 
Ajid -with infernal chymistry to wring 
Che last sweet drop from Sorrow's cup of gall ; 
To quench the only ray that cheered the earth, 
.Ajid leave mankind in night which had no star. 
Others the stream of Pleasure troubled ; he 
Toiled much to dry her very fountain head. 
Unpardonable man ! sold under sin ! 
He was the devil's pioneer, who cut 
The fences doA^ii of Virtue, sapped her walls. 
And opened a smooth and easy way to death. 
Traitor to all existence, to all life ! 
IJoul-suicide ! determined foe of being, 
ji tended miirderer of God, Most High ! 
Strange road, most strange ! to seek for happiness I 
Hell's mad houses are full of such, too fierce. 
Too furiously insane, and desperate, 
Co rage unbound 'mong evil spirits damned- 
Fertile was earth in many things, not least 
In fools, who mercy both and judgment scorned, 
Scorned love, experience scorned, and onward nished 
Co swift destruction, giving all reproof, 
.\jid all instructions, to the winds ; and much 
Of both they had, and much despised of both. 

Wisdom took up her harp, and stood in place 
Of frequent concourse, stood in every gate, 
1ij every way, aud walked in every street ; 
And, lifting up her voice, proclaimed : *• Be wise; 
Ye fools ! be of an understanding heart ; 
Forsake the wicked, come not near his house,; 
Pass by, make haste, depart and turn away. ■ \ 



224 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Me follow, me, whose ways are pleasantness, 
Whose paths are peace, whose end is perfect joy.** 
The Seasons came and M'ent, and went and came, 
To teach men gratitude ; and as they passed. 
Gave warning of the lapse of Time, that else 
Had stolen unheeded by. The gentle Flowers 
Retired, and, stooping o'er the mldemess, 
Talked of humility, and peace, and love. 
The Dews came down unseen at evening- tide. 
And silently their bounties shed, to teach 
Mankind unostentatious charity. 
With arm in arm the forest rose on high. 
And lesson gave of brotherly regard. 
And, on the rugged mountain-brow exposed, 
Bearing the blast alone, the ancient oak 
Stood, lifting high his mighty arm, and still 
To courage in distress exhorted loud. 
The flocks, the herds, the birds, the streams, the brees^ 
Attxmed the heart to melody and love. 
Mercy stood in the cloud, with eye that wept 
Essential love ; and, from her glorious bow, 
Bending to kiss the earth in token of peace, 
With her owti lips, her gracious lips, which Goa 
Of sweetest accent made, she whispered still, 
She whispered to Revenge, Forgive, forgive. 
The Sun, rejoicing round the earth, annovmced 
Daily the wisdom, power, and love of God. 
The Moon awoke, and from her maiden face. 
Shedding her cloudy locks, looked meekly forth. 
And with her virgin Stars walked in the heavens. 
Walked nightly there, conversing as she walked. 
Of purity, and holiness, and God. 
In dreams and visions, sleep instructed much. 
Day uttered speech to day, and night to night 
Taught knowledge. Silence had a tongue ; the grave^ 
llie darkness, and the lonely waste, had each 



225 



A. tongue, that ever said, Man ! think of God ! 

riiink of thyself ! thiiik of eternity ! 

Fear God, the thunders said ; Fear God, the wavea 

Fear God, the lightning of the storm replied. 

Fear God, deep loudly answered back to deep • 

And, in the temples of the Holy One, 

Messiah's messengers, the faithful few, 

Faithful 'mong many false, the Bible opened, 

And cried, Repent ! repent, ye sons of men ! 

Believe, be saved ; and reasoned au-fully 

Of temperance, righteousness, and judgment soon 

To come, of ever- during life and death : 

And chosen bards fi'om age to age o A'oke 

The sacred Ij-re, and full on Folly's ear, 

Numbers of righteous indignation poured : 

And God, omnipotent, when mercy failed, 

Made bare his holy arm, and with the stroke 

Of vengeance smote ; the fountains of the deep 

Broke up, heaven's windows opened, and sent on men 

A flood of wrath, sent plague and famine forth ; 

With earthquake rocked the world beneath, with 

storms 
Above laid cities w^aste, and turned fat lands 
To barrenness, and with the sword of war 
In fury marched, and gave them blood to drink. 
Angels remonstrated, Mercy beseeched, 
Heaven smiled and fro^vTied, Hell groaned, Time dtedi 

Death shook 
His dart, and threatened to make repentance vain,— 
Incredible assertion ! men rushed on 
Determinedly to ruin ; shut their ears. 
Their eyes, to all ad^dce, to all reproof; 
O'er mercy and o'er judgment, downward rushed 
To misery ; and, — most incredible 
Of all I — to misery rushed, along the way 
\)f disappointment and remorse, where still. 



226 THE corssE op toce. 

At eroy step, adders, in pleasure's form, 
Stung mortally ; and Joys, — -whose bloomy cheeki 
Seemed glowing high with immortahty. 
Whose bosoms prophesied superfluous bliss, — 
While in the arms received, and locked in close 
And riotous embrace^ turned pale, and cold. 
And died, and smelled of putrefaction rank ; 
Turned, in the very moment of delight, 
A loathsome, heavy corpse, that with the clear 
And hollow eyes of death, stared horribly. 

All tribes, all generations of the earth. 
Thus wantonly to ruin drove alike. 
We heard indeed of golden and silver days, 
And of primeval innocence unstained : 
A pagan tale I but by baptized bards. 
Philosophers, and statesmen, who were still 
Held wise and cunning men, talked of so much. 
That most believed it so, and asked not why. 

The pair, the family first made, were ill ; 
And for their great peculiar sin, incurred 
The Curse, and left it due to all their race ; 
And bold example gave of every crime, 
Hate, murder, unbelief, reprosich, revenge. 
A time, 'tis true, there came, of which thou soon 
Shalt hear, the Sabbath Day, the Jubilee 
Of earth, when righteousness and peace prevailed. 
This time except, who writes the history 
Of men, and writes it true, must write them bad ; 
Who reads, must read of violence and blcod. 
The man, who could the story of one day 
Peruse, the wrongs, oppressions, cruelties, 
Deceits, and perjuries, and vanities, 
H^warded worthlessness, rejected worth, 
^Lssassio&tions, robberies, thefts, and wan. 



BOOK. m. 227 

Disastrous accidents, life thrown away, 
Divinity insulted, Heaven despised. 
Religion scorned, — and not been sick at night. 
And sad, — had gathered greater store of mirth. 
Than ever wise man in the world could find. 

One cause of folly, one especial cause, 
Was this : Few knew what wisdom was, though welJ 
Defined in God's own words, and printed large, 
On heaven and earth in characters of light. 
And sounded in the ear by every wind- 
Wisdom is humble, said the voice of God. 
*Tis proud, the world replied- Wisdom, said God, 
Forgives, forbears, and suffers, not for fear 
Of man, but God. Wisdom revenges, said 
The world ; is qixick and deadly of resentment. 
Thrusts at the very shadow of affront. 
And hastes, by death, to -wipe its honor clean- 
Wisdom, said God, loves enemies, entreats, 
Solicits, begs for peace. Wisdom, replied 
fhe world, hates enemies, will not ask peace. 
Conditions spurns, and triumphs in their falL 
Wisdom mistrusts itself, and leans on Heaven, 
Said God- It trusts and leans upon itself, 
The world repKed. Wisdom retires, said God, 
And counts it bravery to bear reproach. 
And shame, and lowly poverty, upright ; 
And weeps with all who have just cause to weep. 
Wisdom, replied the world, struts forth to gaze. 
Treads the broad stage of Life with clamorous foot, 
Attracts all praises, counts it bravery 
Alone to wield the sword, and rush on death ; 
And never weeps but for his own disgrace. 
Wisdom, said God, is highest, when it stoops 
lowest before the Holy Throne: throws doAwr 



228 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Its crown, abased ; forgets itself, admires. 
And breathes adoring pniise. There Wisdom st<wp^ 
Indeed, the world replied, there stoops, because 
It must, but stoops -with dignity ; and thinks 
And meditates the while of inward worth. 

Thus did Almighty God, and thus the world. 
Wisdom define : and most the world beheved. 
And boldly called the truth of God a lie. 
Hence, he that to the worldly wisdom shaped 
His character, became the favorite 
Of men, was honorable termed, a man 
Of spirit, noble, glorious, lofty soul ! 
And as he crossed the earth in chase of dreams, 
Received prodigious shouts of warm applause. 
Hence, who to godly wisdom framed his life 
Was counted mean, and spiritless, arA vile ; 
And as he walked obscurely in the patn 
Which led to heaven, fools hissed with serpent tongu^ 
And poxu-ed contempt upon his holy head. 
And poTired contempt on all who praised his name. 

But false as this accotmt of wisdom was, 
The world's I mean, it was its best, the creed 
Of sober, grave, and philosophic men, 
With much research and cogitation framed. 
Of men who with the vulgar scorned to sit. 

The popular belief seemed rather worse. 
When heard replying to the voice of truth. 

The wise man, said the Bible, walks with God ; 
Surveys, far on, the endless line of life ; 
Values his soul, thinks of eternity. 
Both worlds considers, and pro\'ides for both ; 
With Reason's eye his passions guards ; abstains 



BOOK m. 23» 

From evil ; lives on hope, on hop;, the fruit 
Of faiih ; looks upward, purifies his soul. 
Expands his wings, and mounts into the sky , 
Passes the sun, and gains his father's house. 
And drinks with angels from the fovmt of blis«. 

The multitude aloud replied, — replied 
By practice, for they were not bookish men 
2sor apt to form their principles in words, — 
The wise man, first of all, eradicates. 
As much as possible, from out his mind. 
All thought of death, God, and eternity ; 

Admires the world, and thinks of Time alone ; i 

Avoids the Bible, all reproof avoids ; 
Rocks Conscience, if he can, asleep ; puts out 
The eye of Reason, prisons, tortxires, binds. 
And makes her thus, by violence and force. 
Give wicked evidence against herself; 
Lets passion loose, the substance leaves, pursues 
The shadow vehemently, but ne'er o'ertakes ; 
Puts by the cup of holiness and joy ; 
And drinks, carouses deeply, in the bowl 
Of death ; grovels in dust, pollutes, destroys. 
His soul ; is miserable to acquire 
More misery- ; deceives to be deceived ; 
Strives, labors to the last, to shun the truth ; 
Strives, labors to the last, to damn himself ; 
Turns desperate, shudders, groans, blasphemes, aaJ 

dies. 
And sinks — where cotdd he else ? — to endless woe ' 
And drinks the wine of Gild's eternal wrath. 

The learned thus, and thxis the unlearned world 
Wisdom defined. In sound they disagreed ; 
In substance, in effect, in end, the same ; 
ijid equally to God and truth opposed, 
2» 



230 THE COUB8E OF TIME. 

Opposed as darkness to the light of heaven. 
Yet were there some, that seemed well-meaning mei^ 
Who systems planned, expressed in supple words, 
Which praised the man as wisest, that in one 
United bjth ; pleased God, and pleased the world i 
And witli the saint, and ^^ith the sinner, had, 
Changing his garb, unseen, a good report. 
And many thought their definition best ; 
And in their wisdom grew exceeding wise. 

Union abhorred ! dissimulation vain ! 
Could Holiness embrace the harlot Sin ? 
Could life wed death ? Could God with Mammoa 

dwell? 
Oh, foolish men ! oh, men for ever lost ! 
In spite of mercy lost, in spite of wrath I 
In spite of Disappointment and Remorse 
Which made the way to ruin, ruinous ! 

Hear what they were : The progeny of Sin, 
Alike, and oft combined ; but differing much 
In mode of giving pain. As felt the gross, 
Material part, when in the furnace cast, 
So felt the soul, the victim of Remorse. 
It was a fire which on the verge of God's 
Commandments burned, and on the vitals fed 
Of all who passed. Who passed, there met Remors^ 
A violent fever seized his soul ; the heavens 
Above, the earth beneath, seemed glowing brass, 
Heated seven times ; he heard dread voices speak. 
And mutter horrid prophecies of pain. 
Severer and severer yet to come ; 
And as he writhed and quivered, scorched within. 
The Fury round his torrid temples flapped 
Her fiery wings, and breathed upon his lips 
And parched tongue the withered b-ast of helL 



211 



It was the suffering begun, thou sawst 
In symbol of the Worm that never dies. 

The other, Disappointment, rather seemed 
Negation of dehght. It was a thing 
Sluggish and torpid, tending towards death. 
Its breath was cold, and made the sportive blood 
Stagnant, and dull, and heavy, roxmd the wheels 
Of life. The roots of that whereon it blew, 
Decayed, and with the genial soil no more 
Held sympathy ; the leaves, the branches drooped, 
And mouldered slowly down to formless dust ; 
Not tossed and driven by \'iolence of ■s\'inds, 
But withering where they sprung, and rotting there 
Long disappointed, disappointed still, 
The hopeless man, hopeless in his main wish. 
As if returning back to nothing, felt ; 
In strange vacuity of being himg, 
And rolled and rolled his eye on emptiness, 
That seemed to grow more empty every hour. 

One of this mood I do remember well. 
We name him not, — what now are earthly names I 
In himible dwelling bom, retired, remote 
In rural quietude, 'mong hills, and streams, 
And melancholy deserts, where the S\in 
Saw, as he passed, a shepherd only, here 
And there, watching his little flock, or heard 
The ploughman talking to his steers ; his hopes 
His morning hopes, awoke before him, smiliiv^, 
Among the dews and holy mountain airs ; 
And fancy colored them -with every hue 
Of heavenly loveliness. But soon his dreams 
Of childhood fled away, those rainbow dreams, 
So innocent and fair, that withered Age, 
Even at the grave, cleared up his dusty eye» 



232 THB CCTRSE OF TIME. 

And, passing all between, looked fondly back 

To see them once again, ere he departed : 

These fled away, and anxious thought, that wished 

To go, yet whither knew not well to go, 

Possessed his soul, and held it still awhile. 

He listened, and heard from far the voice of fame. 

Heard and was charmed ; and deep and sudden vow 

Of resolution, made to be renowned ; 

And deeper vowed again to keep his vow. 

His parents saw, his parents, whom God made 

Of kindest heart, saw, and indulged his hope. 

The anci(;nt page he tiirned, read much, thought much, 

And with old bards of honorable name 

Measured his soul severely ; and looked up 

To fame, ambitious of no second place. 

Hope grew from inward faith, and promised fair. 

And out before him opened many a path 

Ascending, where the laurel highest waved 

Her branch of endless green. He stood admiring, 

But stood, admired, not long. The harp he seized. 

The harp he loved, loved better than his life. 

The harp which uttered deepest notes, and held 

The ear of thought a captive to its song. 

He searched and meditated much, and whiles. 

With raptiirous hand, in secret, touched the lyre, 

Aiming at glorious strains ; and searched again 

For theme deserving of immortal verse ; 

Chose now, and now refused, unsatisfied ; 

Pleased, then displeased, and hesitating still. 

Thus stood his mind, when roumd him came a cloud 
Slowly and heavily it came, a cloud 
Of ills, we mention not. Enough to say, 
'Twas cold, and dead, impenetrable gloom. 
He saw its dark approach, and saw his hope*. 
One after one, put out, as nearer still 



BOOK m. 233 

it drew his soul ; but fainted not at first, 
Fainted not soon. He knew the lot of man 
Was troubled, and prepared to bear the worst ; 
Endure what'er should come, without a sigh 
Endure, and drink, even to the very dregs. 
The bitterest cup that Time could measure out; 
And, having done, look up, and ask for more. 

He called philosophy, and mth his heart 
Reasoned. He called religion too, but called 
Reluctantly, and therefore was not heard. 
Ashamed to be o'ermatched by earthly woes, 
He sought, and sought, with eye that dimmed apace^ 
To tind some avenue to light, some place 

On which to rest a hope ; but sought in vain. I 

Darker and darker and darker still the darkness grew i 

At length he sunk, and Disappointment stood 
His only comforter, and mournfully 
Told all was passed. His interest in life, 
In being, ceased : and now he seemed to feel, 
And shuddered as he felt, his powers of mind 
Deca^-ing in the spring-time of his day. 
The vigorous, weak became ; the clear, obscure. 
Memory gave up her charge. Decision reeled. 
And from her flight. Fancy returned, returned 
Because she found no nourishment abroad. 
The blue heavens withered, and the moon, and sun, 
And all the stars, and the green earth, and mom 
And evening, 'wi.thered ; and the eyes, and smiles, 
And faces, of all men and women, withered ; 
Withered to him ; and all the imiverse, 
Like something which had been, appeared ; but no"«» 
Was dead and mouldering fast away. He tried 
No more to hope, -wished to forget his vow. 
Wished to forget his harp ; then ceased to wish. 
That was his last. Enjoyment now was done. 
20* 



£34 THB COURSE OF TIME. 

He had no hopo, no wish., and scarce a fear. 
Of being sensible, and sensible 
Of loss, he as some atom seemed, which God 
Had made superfluously, and needed not 
To biiild creation with ; but back again 
fo nothing threw, and left it in the void, 
With everlasting sense that once it was. 

Oh ! who can tell what days, what nights, he spent, 
Of tideless, waveless, sailless, shoreless woe ! 
And who can tell how many, glorious once, 
To others and themselves of promise fuU, 
Conducted to this pass of himian thought. 
This wilderness of intellectual death. 
Wasted and pined, and vanished from the earth. 
Leaving no vestige of memorial there ! 

It was not so -v^ith him. When thus he lay, 
Forlorn of heart, withered and desolate, 
As leaf of Autumn, which the wolfish winds. 
Selecting from its falling sisters, chase. 
Far from its native grove, to lifeless wastes, 
And leave it there alone, to be forgotten 
Eternally, God passed in mercy by, — 
His praise be ever new ! — and on him breathed, 
And bade him Uve, and put into his hands 
A holy harp, into his hps a song. 
That rolled its numbers downi the tide of Time : 
Ambitioiis now but little, to be praised 
Of men alone ; ambitious most, to be 
Approved of God, the Judge of all ; and have 
His name recorded in the book of life. 

Such things were Disappointment and Remorses 
And oft tmited both, as friends severe, 
Vo teach men wisdom ; but the fool, untaught. 



235 



Was fooKsh still. His ear he stopped, his eyes 
He shut, and blindly, deafly obstinate. 
Forced desperately his way Irom wo to wo. 

One place, one only place, there was on earth, 
WTiere no man e'er was fool, however mad. 
" Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die. 
Ah ! 'twas a truth most true ; and sujig in Time, 
And to the sons of men, by one well known 
On earth for lofty verse and lofty sense. 
Much hast thou seen, fair youth, much heard ; but 

thou 
Hast never seen a death bed, never heard 
A dying groan. Men saw it often. 'Twas sad. 
To all most sorrowful and sad ; to gtult, 
'Twas anguish, terror, darkness, without bow. 
But, oh ! it had a most convincing tongue, 
A potent oratory, that secured 
Most mute attention ; and it spoke the truth 
So boldly, plainly, perfectly distinct. 
That none the meaning could mistake or doubt ; 
And had -withal a disenchanting power, 
A most omnipotent and wondrous powei, 
"VMiich in a moment broke, for ever broke, 
And utterly dissolved, the charms, and spells. 
And cimning sorceries of earth and hell. 
And thus it spoke to him who ghastly lay, 
And struggled for another breath : Earth's cup 
Is poisoned ; her renown, most infamous ; 
Her gold, seem as it may, is really dust ; 
Her titles, slanderous names ; her praise, reproach ; 
Her strength, an idiot's boast ; her -wisdom, blind ; 
Her gain, eternal loss ; her hope, a dream ; 
Her love, her friendship, enmity -with God ; 
Her promises, a lie ; her smile, a harlot's ; 
Her beauty, paint, and rotten within ; Ver pleasures. 



236 THE COURSE OF TOIE. 

Deadly assassins masked ; her laugliter, grief; 
Her breasts, the stiiig of Death ; her totsd sxiiii. 
Her all ! most utter vanity ; and all 
Her lovers mad, insane most grievously, 
And most insane because they know it not. 

Thus did the mighty reasoner, Death, declare, 
And volumes more ; and in one word confirmed 
The Bible whole, Eternity is all. 
But few spectators, few believed, of those 
Who staid behind. The wisest, best of men, 
Believed not to the letter full ; but turned, 
And on the world looked forth, as if they thought 
The well-trimmed hypocrite had something stUl 
Of inward worth. The dying man alone, 
Gave faithful audience, and the words of Death, 
To the last jot, believed, believed and felt ; 
But oft, alas ! believed and felt too late. 

And had Earth, then, no joys, no native sweets, 
No happiness, that one, who spoke the truth, 
Might call her own ? She had ; true, native sweeta^ 
Indigenous delights, which up the tree 
Of holiness, embracing as they grew, 
Ascended, and bore fruit of heavenly taste ; 
In pleasant memory held, and talked of oft. 
By yonder Saints, who walk the golden street* 
Of New Jerusalem, and compass round 
The Throne, vdth nearest vision blessed. Of these, 
Hereafter, thou shalt hear, dehghted hear ; — 
One page of beauty in the life of man. 



COURSE OF TIME. 

BOOK IV 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK IV. 



Sketches are given by the Bard of several features in the bistory 
and affairs of men, which appeared wonderful. 

One singular feature was the universal love of independence 
united with lust for power, so that the essence of " earth's lib- 
erty " was, after all its praises, nothing but this : " each sought 
to make all subject to his will ; " but keal liberty was the 
freedom from sin and passion, effected by the truth and spirit 
of God. 

A. wonderful phenomenon appeared in the Christian heart. This 
exhibited a scene of strangest conflicts between opposite prin- 
ciples, and inconsistent emotions. But the fmal victory was 
found on the side of holmess ; and the Christian, after all his 
internal struggles, and all the abuse and slander of Earth, was 
brought in triumph to the world of glory. 

The Books composed in time presented also an occasion of won- 
der. They were numerous as the swarms of locusts sent on 
rebellious Egypt, but, like their authors, went to oblivion un- 
der the curse that returns dust to kijidred dust. 

Various things in the government and providence of God, fur- 
nished ground of wonder among men. The orighi of evil, the 
predetermination of accountable actions, the mystery of the 
Trinity and Incarnation, were subjects which Theology and 
Philosophy and Fancy toiled in vain to comprehend. 

There seemed something wondrous in the unequal distribution of 
worldly possession and intellectual gifts. But the Providence 
of God plainly taught that He did not estimate men by their 
outward circumstances or their mere talents, but by theiJ 
MORAL WORTH. A pertinent and affecting iLustration is found 
in the history of the gifted, wretched Byron. 



COURSE OF TIME 
BOOK IV. 

The world had much of strange and wonderful* 
In passion much, in action, reason, will. 
And much in Providence, which still retired 
From hxmian eye, and led Philosophy, 
That iU her ignorance liked to own, through dark 
And dangerous paths of speculation wild. 
Some striking features, as we pass, we mark, 
In order such as memory suggests. 

One passion prominent appears, the lust 
Of power, which oft-times took the fairer name 
Of liberty, and hung the popular flag 
Of freedom out. ^lany, indeed, its names. 
When on the throne it sat, and round the neck 
Of millions riveted its iron chain. 
And on the shoulders of the people laid 
Burdens unmerciful, it title took 
Of tyranny, oppression, despotism ; 
And every tongue was weary cursing it. 
When in the multitude it gathered strength. 
And, like an ocean bursting from its bounds, 
Long beat in vain, went forth resistlessly, 
It bore the stamp eind designation, then. 
Of popular fury, anarchy, rebellion ; 
And honest men bewailed aU order void ; 



240 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

All laws aiumlled ; all property destroyed ; 

The venerable, murdered in the streets ; 

The wise, despised ; streams red with human blood i 

Harvests, beneath the frantic foot trod do-wn ; 

Lands, desolate ; and famine at the door. 

These are a part ; but other names it had, 
Innumerous as the shapes and robes it wore. 
But under every name, in nature still 
Invariably the same, and always bad. 
We own, indeed, that oft against itself 
It fought, and sceptre both and people gave 
An equal aid ; as long exemplified 
In Albion's isle, Albion, queen of the seas ; 
And in the struggle, something like a kind 
Of ci-sal liberty grew up, the best 
Of mere terrestrial root ; but, sickly, too. 
And uving only, strange to tell ! in stjjfle 
Of factions equally contending ; dead, 
That very moment dead, that one prevailed 

Conflicting cruelly against itself, 
By its own hand it fell ; part slaj-ing part. 
And men who noticed not the suicide. 
Stood wondering much, why earth, from age to agc^ 
Was stiU enslaved ; and erring causes gave. 

This was earth's liberty, its nature this. 
However named, in whomsoever found, — 
And found it was in all of woman bom, — 
"Each man to make all subject to his ^ill ; 
To make them do, undo, eat, drink, stand, move. 
Talk, think, and feel, exactly as he chose. 
Hence the eternal strife of brotherhoods. 
Of individuals, families, conxmonwealths. 
The root from which it grew was pride ; bad root, 



241 



And bad the fi-uit it bore. Then wondei not, 

That long the nations from it richly reaped 

Oppression, slavery, tjTamiy, and war; 

Confusion, desolation, trouble, shame. 

And marvellous though it seem, this monster, when 

It took the name of slavery, as oft 

It did, had advo mtes to plead its cause ; 

Beings that walked erect, and spoke like men; 

Of Christian parentage descended, too, 

And dipped in the baptismal font, as sign 

Of dedication to the Prince who bowed 

To death, to set the sin-bound prisoner free, 

Uncluistian thought ! on what pretence soe'er 
Of right, inherited, or else acquired ; 
Of loss, or protit, or what plea you name, 
To buy and sell, to barter, whip, and hold 
In chains, a being of celestial make ; 
Of kindred form, of kindred faculties, 
Of kindred feelings, passions, thoughts, desires ; 
Bom free, and heir of an immortal hope ; 
Thought villanous, absurd, detestable ! 
Unworthy to be harbored in a fiend ! 
And only overreached in wickedness 
By that, birth, too, of earthly Kberty, 
WTiich aimed to make a reasonable man 
By Icgislarion think, and by the sword 
Believe. This was that liberty renowned. 
Those efjxial rights of Greece and Rome, where men, 
All, but a few, were bought, and sold, and scourged. 
And killed, as interest or caprice enjoined ; 
In after times tallced of, \\Titten of, so much, 
That most, by sound and custom led away, 
Believed the essence answered to the name. 
Historians on this theme were long and warm. 
Statesmen, drunk with the fumes of vain debate^ 
21 



242 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

In lofty swelling phrase, called it perfection. 

Philosophers its rise, advance, and fall, 

Traced carefully : mid poets kindled still, 

As memory brought it up ; their lips were touched 

With dre, and uttered words that men adored. 

Even he, true bard of Zion, holy man ! 

To whom the Bible taught this precious verse, 

"He is the freeman whom the truth makes free," 

By fashion, though by fashion little swayed, 

Scarce kept his harp from pagan freedom's praise 

The captive prophet, whom Jehovah gave 
The future years, described it best, when he 
Beheld it rise in vision of the night : 
A dreadful beast, and terrible, and strong 
Exceedingly, with mighty iron teeth ; 
And, lo, it brake in pieces, and devoured. 
And stamped the residue beneath its feet ! 

True liberty was Christian, sanctified. 
Baptized, and found in Christian hearts alone ; 
First-bom of Virtue, daughter of the skies. 
Nursling of truth divine, sister of all 
The graces, meekness, holiness, and love ; 
Giving to God, and man, and all below, 
That symptom showed of sensible existence. 
Their due, unasked ; fear to whom fear was due j 
To all, respect, benevolence, and love ; . 
Companion of religion, where she came. 
There freedom came ; where dwelt, there freedon 

dwelt, 
Ruled where she ruled, expired where she expired. 

" He was the freeman whom the truth made free," 
Who, first of all, the bands of Satan broke ; 
Who broke the bands of sia ; and for his soul* 



248 



In spite of fools, constilted seriotisly ; 

In spite of fashion, persevered in good ; 

In spite of wealth or poverty, upright ; 

Who did as reason, not as fancy, bade ; 

Who heard temptation sing, and yet turned not 

Aside ; saw Sin bedeck her flowery bed. 

And yet would not go up ; felt at his heart 

The sword unsheathed, yet would not sell the truth ; 

WTio, having power, had not the will to hurt ; 

WTio blushed alike to be, or have a slave ; 

Who blushed at naught but sin, feared naught but 

God; 
Who, finally, in strong integrity 
Of sovd, 'midst want, or riches, or disgrace, 
Uplifted, calmly sat, and heard the waves 
Of stormy folly breaking at his feet. 
Now shrill with praise, now hoarse with foul reproacfl. 
And both despised sincerely ; seeking this 
Alone, The approbation of his God, 
Which still with conscience witnessed to his peace. 

This, this is freedom, such as angels use, 
And kindred to the liberty of God. 
First- bom of Virtue, daughter of the skies I 
The man, the state, in whom she ruled, was free ; 
All else were slaves of Satan, Sin, and Death. 

Already thou hast something heard of good 
And iU, of vice and virtue, perfect each ; 
Of those redeemed, or else abandoned quite ; 
And more shalt hear, when, at the judgment-day, 
The characters of mankind we review. 
Seems aught which thou hast heard astonishing ? 
A greater wonder now thy audience asks ; 
Phenomena in all the \mivorse, 
Of moral being most anomalous. 



£44 TUB COURSE OF TEME. 

Inexplicable most, and wonderful. 

I'll introduce thee to a single heart, 

A human heart. We enter not the worst, 

But one by God's renewing Spirit touched, 

A Cliristiiu: heart, awaked from sleep of sin. 

\Miat seest thou here ? whatmarkst? Observe it well. 

Will, passion, reason, hopes, fears, joy, distress, 

Peace, turbulence, simpKcity, deceit. 

Good, ill, coiTuption, inimortality, 

A temple of the Holy Ghost, and yet 

Oft lodging fiends ; the dwelling-place of all 

The heavenly >'irtues, charity and truth, 

H\imility, and holiness, and love ; 

And yet the common haxmt of anger, pride. 

Hatred, revenge, and passions foul -with lust ; 

Allied to heaven, yet parleying oft with hell * 

A soldier listed in Messiah's band, 

Yet giving quarter to Abaddon's troops ; 

With seraphs drinking from the well of life, 

And yet carousing in the cup of death ; 

An heir of heaven, and walking thitherward, 

Yet casting back a covetous eye on earth : 

Emblem of strength, and weakness ; loving now, 

And now abhorring sin ; indulging now, |j 

And now repenting sore ; rejoicuig now, it 

With joy unspeakable, and fuft of glory ; | 

Now weeping bitterly, and clothed in dust ; jl 

A man willing to do, and doing not ; j 

Doing, and billing not ; embracing what || 

He hates, what most he loves abandoning ; 

Half saint, and sinner half ; half life, half death ; 

Commixture strange of heaven, and earth, and heU. 

What seest thou here? what mark'st? A battle* 
field, 
IVo banners spread, two dreadful fronts of war 



245 



In shock of opposition fierce, engaged. 
God, angels, saw whole empires rise in arms, 
Saw kings exalted, heard them tumble down, 
And others raised, — and heeded not ; but hci e 
God, angels, looked ; God, angels, fought ; aiicl Kell, 
With all his legions, fought : here, en-or fought 
With truth, \\'ith darkness light, and life with death ; 
And here, not kingdoms, reputations, worlds, 
Were won ; the striie was for eternity, 
The victory was never-ending bliss, 
The badge, a chaplet from the tree of life. 

WTiile thus, within, contending armies strove 
Without, the Christian had his troubles too. 
For, as by God's unalterable laws. 
And ceremonial of the Heaven of Heavens, 
Virtue takes place of all, ^nd worthiest deeds 
Sit highest at the feast of bliss ; on earth, 
The opposite was fashion's rule polite. 
Virtue the lowest place at table took, 
Or served, or was shut out ; the Christian still 
Was mocked, derided, persecuted, slain ; 
And Slander, worse than mockery, or sword. 
Or death, stood nightly by her horrid forge, 
And fabricated lies to stain his name. 
And wound his peace ; but still he had a soiuce 
Of happiness, that men could neither give 
Nor take away. The avenues that led 
To immortality before him lay. 
He saw, with faith's far-reaching eye, the fount 
Of life, his Father's house, his Sa^dou^ God, 
And borrowed thence to help his present want. 

Encountered thus with enemies, Av-ithout, 
Within, like bark that meets opposing winds 
^d floods, this way, now that, she steers athwart, 
21* 



"^"^ 



246 THB COURSE OP TIME. 

Tossed by the wave, and driven by the storm ; 

But still the pUot, ancient at the helm, 

The harbor keeps in eye ; and al'ter much 

Of danger passed, and many a prayer rude» jj 

He runs her safely in : so was the man 

Of God beset, so tossed by adverse winds ; | 

And so his eye upon the land of life i! 

He kept. Virtue grew daily stronger, sin i| 

Decayed ; his enemies, repulsed, retired ; jj 

Till, at the stature of a perfect man 

In Christ arrived, and with the Spirit filled, 

He gained the harbor of eternal rest. 

But think not virtue, else than dwells in God 
Essentially, was perfect, without spot. 
Examine yonder suns. At distance seen. 
How bright they bum ; how gloriously they shinc^ 
Mantling the worlds around in beamy light ! 
But nearer viewed, we through their lustre see 
Some dark behind ; so virtue was on earth. 
So is in heaven, and so shall always be. 
Though good it seem, immaculate, and fair 
Exceedingly, to saint or angel's gaze, 
The uncreated Eye, that searches all, 
Sees it imperfect ; sees, but blames not ; sees. 
Well pleased, and best with those who deepest dive 
Into themselves, and know themselves the most ; 
Taught thence in humbler reverence to bow 
Before the Holy One ; and oftener view 
His excellence, that in them still may rise, 
And grow his likeness, growing evermore. 



Nor think that any, bom of Adam's race, 
In his own proper virtue, entered heaven. 
Once fallen from God and perfect holiness, 
No being, "inassisted, e'er could rise. 



BOOK rv. S47 

Or sanctify the sin-polluted soul. 
Oft was the trial made, but vainly made. 
So oft as men, in earth's best livery clad, 
However fair, approached the gates of heaven. 
And stood presented to the eye of God, 
Their impious pride so oft his soul abhorred. 
Vain hope ! in patch- work of terrestrial grain. 
To be received into the courts above ! 
As vain as towards yonder suns to soar. 
On wing of waxen plumage, melting soon. 

Look round, and see those numbers infinite. 
That stand before the Throne, and in their hands 
Palms waving high, as token of ^^LCtory 
For battles won. These are the sons of men 
Redeemed, the ransomed of the Lamb of God 
All these, and millions more of kindred blood, 
Who now are out on messages of love. 
All these, their virtue, beauty, excellence, 
And joy, are ptirchase of redeeming blood ; 
Their glory, bounty of redeeming love. 

O Love divine ! — Harp, lift thy voice on high ! 
Shout, angels ! shout aloud, ye sons of men ! 
And burn, my heart, with the eternal flame I 
My lyre, be eloquent with endless praise ! — 
O Love divine ! unmeasurable Love ! 
Stooping from heaven to earth, from earth to hell. 
Without beginning, endless, boundless Lov« ! 
Above all asking, gi^dng far, to those 
Who naught deserved, who naught deserved but dea&« 
Saving the vilest ! saving me ! O Love 
Divine ! O Saviour God ! O Lamb, once slain ! 
At thought of thee, thy love, thy flowing blood. 
All thoughts decay ; all things remembered fa^ ; 
All hopes return ; all actions done by men 



i 



HH THE COTTRSR OF TIM*. 

Or an;j,els, disappear, absorbed and lost ; 
A. 11 tly, as froiT) the great white Throne, which he, 
The prophet, saw, in vision wrapped, the heavens 
A.nd earth, and sun, and moon, and stany host, 
Confounded, fled, and found a place no more. 

One glance of wonder, as we pass, deserve 
The books of Time. Productive was the world 
In many things, but most in books. Like swarmf 
Of locusts, which God sent to vex a land 
Rebellious long, admonished long in vain. 
Their numbers they poured annually on man, 
From heads conceiving still. Perpetual birth ! 
Thou wonderest how the world contained them all ? 
Thy wonder stay. Like men, this was their doom, 
*' That dust they were, and should to dust return.'* 
And oft their fathers, childless and bereaved, 
Wept o'er their graves, when they themselves wer« 

green ; 
Ajid on them fell, as fell on every age, 
As on their authors fell, oblivious Night, 
\Miich o'er the past lay, darkling, heavy, still, 
Impenetrable, motionless, and sad. 
Having his dismal, leaden plumage stirred 
By no remembrancer, to show the men 
Who after came what was concealed beneath. 

The story-telling tribe, alone, outran 
All calculation far, and left behind, 
liagging, the SA\dftest numbers. Dreadful, even 
To fancy, was their never-ceasing birth ; 
And room had lacked, had not their life been short. 
Excepting some, their definition take 
Thou thus, expressed in gentle phrase, which leaves 
Some truth behind ; A Novel was a book 
Three- vol mned, and once read, and oft crammed full 



249 



Of poisonous error, blackening every page, 
And ottencr still, of trifling, second-hand 
Kcmark, and old, diseased, putrid thouglit. 
And miserable incident, at war 
With nature, with itself and truth at war ; 
Yet charming still the greedy reader on, 
Till done, he tried to recollect his thoughts, 
And nothing found, but dreaming emptiness. 
These, like ephemera, sprung, in a day. 
From lean and shallow-soiled braiias of sand, 
^d in a day expired ; yet, while they lived, 
Tremendous oft-times was the popular roar ; 
And cries of — Live for ever ! struck the skies. 



One kind alone remained, seen through the gloom 
And sullen shadow of the past : as lights 
At intervals they shone, and brought the eye, 
That backward travelled, upward, till arrived 
At him, who, on the hills of Midian, sang 
The patient man of Uz ; and from the IjTe 
Of angels, learned the early da-wTi of Time. 
Not light and momentary labor these, 
But discipline and self-denial long. 
And purpose stanch, and perseverance, asked. 
And energy that inspiration seemed. 
Composed of many thoughts, possessing each 
Innate and underived vitality ; 
Which, having fitly shaped, and well arranged 
In brotherly accord, they builded up ; 
A stately superstructure, that, nor wind. 
Nor wave, nor shock of falling years, could move ; 
Majestic and indissolubly firm ; 
As ranks of veteran warriors in 'he field, 
Each by himself alone and singly seen, 
A. tower of strength ; in massy phalanx knit, 



150 THE comsB or 

Ajid in embattled sqiiadron rushing an, 
A sea of -ralor, dread, invincible. 

Books of this sort, or sacred, or profane, 
Which Tirrue helped, were titled, not amiss, 
♦* The medicine of the mind : " "who read them, roftd 
Wisdom, and was refreshed ; and on his path 
Of pilgrimage, with healthier step advanced. 

In mind, in matter, much was difficulty 
To xmderstand. But, what in deepest night 
Retired, inscrutable, mysterious, dark, — 
Was eviL God's decrees, and deeds decreed 
Responsible : why G-od, the just and good. 
Omnipotent and wise, should suffer sin 
To rise : why man was free, accountable ; 
Yet God foreseeing, overruling alL 
Where'er the eye could turn, whatever tract 
Of moral thought it took, by reason's torch. 
Or Scripture's led, before it still thu» mount 
Sprung up, impervious, insurmountable. 
Above the human stature rising far ; 
Horizon of the mind, surrounding still 
The vision of the soul with clouds and gloom. 
Yet did they oft attempt to scale its sides. 
And gain its top. Philosophy, to climb. 
With all her vigor, toiled from age to age ; 
From age to age. Theology, with all 
Her vigor, toiled ; and vagrant Fancy toiled. 
Xot weak and foolish only, but the wise. 
Patient, courageous, stout, sound-headed 
Of proper discipline, of excellent wind. 
And strong of intellectual limb, toiled hard ; 
And oft above the reach of common eye 
Ascended far, and seemed well nigh the top, 
But only seemed ; for still another top 



261 



Aoove them rose, till, giddy grown and mad, 
With gazing at these dangerous heights of God, 
They tumbled down, and in their raving paid. 
They o'er the summit saw. And some believed. 
Believed a lie ; for never man on earth. 
That mountain crossed, or saw its farther side. 
AroTind it lay the wreck of many a Sage, 
Divine, Philosopher ; and many more 
Fell daUy, undeterred by millions fallen ; 
Each wondering why he failed to comprehend 
God, and with finite measure infinite. 
To pass it, was no doubt desirable ; 
And few of any intellectual size, 
That did not, sometime in their day, attempt ; 
But all in vain ; for as the distant hill, 
WTiich, on the right or left, the traveller's eye 
Boimds, seems advancing as he walks, and oft 
He looks, and looks, and thinks to ].a.ss ; but still 
It forward moves, and mocks his baifted sight, 
Till night descends, and wraps the scene in gloom 
So did this moral height the vision mock ; 
So lifted up its dark and cloudy head. 
Before the eye, and met it evermore ; 
And some, provoked, accused the righteous God 
Accused of what ? hear human boldnes? now ! 
Hear guilt, hear foUy, madness, all extreme ! 
Accused of what ? the God of truth accused 
Of cruelty, injustice, ^vickedness. 
Abundant sin ! becaxise a mortal man, 
A worm, at best, of small capacity. 
With scarce an atom of Jehovah's works 
Before him, and Asith scarce an ho\ir to look 
Upon them, should presume to censure God, 
The infinite and uncreated God ! 
To sit, in judgment, on Hmiself, his workR, 
His providence ! and try, accuse, condemn ' 



nl 



2-52 THE COURSE OF TIMP.. 

f.f there is aught, thought or to think, absiud. 
Irrational and wicked, tliis is more, 
This most ; the sin of de\'ils, or of those 
To devils growing fast. Wise men and go.(>f\ 
Accused themselves, not God ; and put thoir hands 
Upon their mouths, and in the dust adored. 

The Christian's faith had many mysteries too j 
Fhe xincreated holy Three in One, 
Divine incarnate, human in divine ; 
The inward call ; the Sanctiijing Dew 
Coming unseen, unseen departing thence ; 
Anew creating all, and yet not heard ; 
Compelling, yet not felt. Mysterious these, 
Not that Jehovah to conceal them wished, 
Not that rehgion wished. The Christian faith. 
Unlike the timorous creeds of pagan priests, 
Was frank, stood forth to view, invited all 
To prove, examine, search, investigate, 
And gave herself a light to see her by. 
ISIysterious these, because too large for eye 
Of man, too long for h\mxan arm to mete. 

Go to yon mount, which on the north side stand* 
Of New Jerusalem, and lifts its head 
Serene in glory bright, except the hill. 
The Sacred Hill of God, whereon no foot 
Must tread, highest of all creation's walks. 
And overlooking all, in prospect vast, 
From out the ethereal blue. That cliff ascend. 
Gaze thence, around thee look ; naught now impedea 
Thy view ; yet still thy vision, purified 
And strong although it be, a boxmdary meets ; 
Or rather, thou wilt say, thy vision fails 
To gaze throughout illimitable space. 
And hnd tiin end of inhnite : and so 



269 



It was with aU the mysteries of faith. 

God set them forth unveiled to the full g£^e 

Of man, and asked him to investigate ; 

But Reason's eye, however purihed, 

And on whatever tall and goodly heignt 

Of observation placed, to comprehend 

Them fully, sought in vain : in vain seeks still ; 

But, wiser now and humbler, she concludes, 

From what she knows already of his love 

All gracious, that she cannot understand ; 

And gives him credit, reverence, praise for alL 

Another feature in the ways of God, 
That Avonch-ous seemed, and made some men complain, 
Was the unequal gift of worldly things. 
Great was the difference, indeed, of men 
Externally, from beggar to the prince. 
The highest take and lowest, and conceive 
The scale between. A noble of the earth, 
One of its great, in splendid mansion dAveit; 
Was robed in silk and gold ; and every day 
Fared sumptuously ; was titled, honored, served. 
I'housands his nod awaited, and his will 
For law received. Whole provinces his march 
Attended, and his chaiiot drew, or on 
Their shoulders bore aloft the precious man. 
Millions, abased, fell prostrate at his feet : 
Ajid milHons more thundered adoring praise. 
As far as eye could reach, he called the land 
His OAA-n, and added yearly to his fields. 
Like tree that of the soil took healthy root. 
He grew on every side, and towered on high, 
And over half a nation shadowing wide. 
He spread his ample boughs. Air, earth, and sea. 
Nature entire, the brute, and rational, 
To please him ministered, and vied among 
22 



254 THE COTJKSE OP TIME. 

Themselvej, wlio most should his desires preveixt, 

Watching the moving of his rising thoughts, 

Attentively, and hastin?: to fulfil. 

His palace rose and kissed the gorgeous clouds : 

Streams bent their musir to his wilL trees sprucg. 

The native waste put on hixiirlant robes ; 

And plans of happv cottages cast out 

Their tenants, and became a hvinting- field. 

Befors him bowed the distimt isles, with fruits 

And spices rare ; the South her treasures brought ; 

The East and West sent ; and the frigid North 

Came with her oflfering of glossy furs. 

Musicians soothed his ear with airs select ; 

Beauty held out her arras ; and every man 

Of cunning skill, and cuiious device. 

And endless multitudes of liveried wights, 

His pleasure waited with obsequious look. 

And when the wants of nature were supplied 

And common-place extravagances filled. 

Beyond their asking ; and caprice itself^ 

In all its zig-zag appetites, gorged full. 

The man new wants and new expenses plaimed ; 

Nor planned alone. Wise, learned, sober men. 

Of cogitation deep, took up his case. 

And planned for him now modes of folly wild ; 

Contrived new mshes, wants, and wondroiis meaiw 

Of spending with despatch ; yet, after all, 

His fields extended still, his riches grew. 

And what seemed splendor infinite, increased. 

So lavishly upon a single man 

Did Providence his boimties daily shower. 

Turn now thy eye, and look on Porerty ; 
Look on the lowest of her ragged sons. 
Ws find him by the way, sitting in dust ; 
He has no bread to eat, no tongue to ask, 



BOOK XV. 256 

No b'mb'* to walk, no home, no house, no friend. 

Observe his goblin cheek, his wretched eye ; 

See how his hand, if any hand he has. 

Involuntary opens, and trembles forth. 

As comes the traveller's foot; and hear his groan. 

His long and lamentable groan, announce 

The want that gnaws within. Severely now 

The sun scorches and bums his old bald head ; 

The frost now glues him to the chilly earth. 

On him hail, rain, and tempest, rudely beat ; 

And all the winds of heaven, in jocular mood. 

Sport with his withered rags, that, tossed about. 

Display his nakedness to passers by, 

And grievously burlesque the human form. 

Observe him yet more narrowly. His limbs, 

With palsy shaken, about him, blasted lie ; 

And all his flesh is full of putrid sores 

And noisome woimds, his bones, of racking pains. 

Strange vesture this for an immortal soul I 

Strange retinue to wait a lord of earth ! 

It seems as Nature, in some surly mood. 

After debate and musing long, had tried 

How vile and miserable thing her hand 

Could fabricate, then made this meagre man, 

A sight so full of perfect misery. 

That passengers their faces turned away 

And hasted to be gone ; and deUcate 

And tender women took another path. 

This great disparity of outward things 
Taught many lessons ; but this taught in chie^ 
Though learned by few : That God no value set, 
That man should none, on goods of worldly kindl 
On transitory, frail, external things, 
Of migratory, ever-changing sort : 
And further taught, that in the soul alone. 



256 THE COURSE OF TIMB. 

The thinking, reasonable, willing soul, 
God placed the total excellence of man ; 
And meant him evermore to seek it there. 

But stranger still the distribution seemed 
Of intellect, though fewer here complained, 
Each with his share, upon the whole, content. 
One man there was — and many such you might 
Have met — who never had a dozen thoughts 
In all his life, and never changed their course ; 
But told them o'er, each in its customed place, 
From morn till night, from youth to hoary age. 
Little above the ox that grazed the field, 
His reason rose ; so weak his memory, 
The name his mother called him by, he scarce 
Remembered ; and his judgment so untaught. 
That what at evening played along the swamp, 
Fantastic, clad in robe of fiery hue, 
He thought the devil in disguise, and fled 
With quivering heart and winged footsteps home. 
The word philosophy he never heard. 
Or science ; never heard of liberty, 
Necessity, or laws of gravitation ; 
And never had an unbelieving doubt. 
Beyond his native vale he never looked ; 
But thought the visual line, that girt liim round, 
The world's extreme ; and thought the silver Moon, 
That nightly o'er him led her virgin host, 
No broader than his father's shield. He lived, — 
Lived where his father lived, died where he died, 
Lived happy, and died happy, and was saved. 
Be not surprised. He loved and served his God, 

There was another, large of xmderstanding, 
Of memory infinite, of judgment deep, 
Who knew all leai'tiing, and all science Knew ; 



2fi7 



And all pnenomena, in heaven and earth, 

Traced to their causes ; traced the labyrinth* 

Of thought, association, passion, \vUl ; 

And all the subtle, nice affinities 

Of matter traced, its virtues, motions, laws ; 

And most familiarly and deeply talked 

Of mental, moral, natural, divine. 

Ijcaving the earth at will, he soared to heaven. 

And read the glorious visions of the skies ; 

And to the music of the rolling spheres 

Intelligently listened ; and gazed far back 

Into the awful depths of Deity ; 

Did all that mind assisted most could do ; 

And yet in misery lived, in misery died, 

Because he wanted holiness of heart. 

A deeper lesson this to mortals taught, 
And nearer cut the branches of their pride, 
That not in mental, but in moral worth, 
God excellence placed ; and only to the good, 
To virtue, granted happiness, alone. 

Admire the goodness of Almighty God ! 
He riches gave, he intellectual strength. 
To few, and therefore none commands to be 
Or rich, or learned ; nor promises reward 
Of peace to these. On all, He moral worth 
Bestowed, and moral tribute asked from all. 
And who that could not pay r who bom so p(?or, 
Of intellect so mean, as not to know 
AVliat seemed the best ; and, knowing, might not do. 
As not to know what God and conscience bade. 
And what they bade not able to obey ; 
And he, who acted thus, fultilled the law 
Eternal, and promise reaped of peace ; 
Found peace this way alone : wh o sought it else, 
22* 



258 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Bought mellow grapes beneath the icy Pole, 
Sought blooming roses on the cheek of death. 
Sought substance in a world of fleeting shadefc 

Take one example, to our purpose qiiite. 
A man of rank, and of capacious soul, 
Who riches had and fame, beyond desire; 
An heir of flattery, to titles bom, 
And reputation and luxurious life : 
Yet not content with ancestorial name, 
Or to be known because his fathers were. 
He on this height hereditary stood, 
And, gazing higher, purposed in his heart 
To take another step. Above him seemed, 
Alone, the mount of song, the lofty seat 
Of canonized bards ; and thitherward, 
By nature taught, and inward melody. 
In prime of youth, he bent his eagle eye. 
No cost was spared. What books he wished, he read 
What sage to hear he heard ; what scenes to see. 
He saw. And first in rarabhng school-boy days 
Britannia's mountain walks, and heath- girt lakes. 
And story-telling glens, and fotmts, and brooks. 
And maids, as dew-drops pure and fair, his soul 
With grandeiir filled, and melody, and love. 
Then travel came, and took him where he wished. 
He cities saw, and courts, and princely pomp ; 
And mused alone on ancient motmtain-brows : 
And mused on battle-fields, where valor fought 
In other days ; and mused on ruins gray 
With years ; and drank from old and fabulous wells. 
And plucked the vine that first-born prophets plucked 
And mused on famous tombs, and on the wave 
9f Ocean mused, and on the desert waste ; 
The heavens and earth of every country saw. 
Where'er the old inspiring Genii dwelt. 



25S 



A.uglit that could rouse, expand, refine the soul, 
rhither he went, and meditated there. 

He touched his harp, and nations heard, entranced. 
Ajs some vast river of unfailing source, 
Rapid, exhau5tless, deep, his numbers flowed. 
And opened new fountains in the human heart. 
Where Fancy halted, weary in her flight, 
In other men, his, fresh as morning, rose. 
And soared Tintrodden heights, and seemed at home, 
Where angels bashful looked. Others, though great, 
Beneath their argmnents seemed struggling whiles ; 
He, from above descending, stooped to touch 
The loftiest thought ; and proudly stooped, as though 
It scarce deserved his verse. With Nature's self 
He seemed an old acquaintance, free to jest 
At wiU with all her glorious majesty. 
He laid his hand upon " the Ocean's mane," 
And played familiar with his hoary locks ; 
Stood on the Alps, stood on the Appenines. 
And with the thunder talked, as friend to friend ; 
And wove his garland of the Kghtning's wing, 
In sportive twist — the lightning's fiery wing, 
Which, as the footsteps of the dreadful God, 
Marching upon the storm in vengeance, seemed ; 
Then turned, and with the grasshopper, who sung 
His evening song beneath his feet, conversed. 
Suns, moons, and stars, and clouds, his sisters were ; 
Rocks, mountains, meteors, seas, and winds, and 

storms. 
His brothers, younger brothers, whom he scarce 
As equals deemed. AU passions of all men, 
The wild and tame, the gentle and severe ; 
All thoughts, all maxims, sacred and profane ; 
All creeds, all seasons, Time, Eternity ; 
All that was hated, rjid all that was dear ; 



260 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

All that was hoped, all that was feared, by man ; 
He tossed about, as tempest, withered leaves ; 
Then, smiling, looked upon the wreck he mada. 
With terror now he froze the cowering blood, 
Ajid now dissolved the heart in tenderness ; 
Yet would not tremble, would not weep himseK; 
But back into his soul retired, alone, 
Dark, sullen, proud, gazing contemptuously 
On hearts and passions prostrate at his feet. 
So Ocean, from the plains his waves had late 
To desolation swept, retired in pride, 
Exulting in the glory of his might. 
And seemed to mock the ruin he had wrought. 

As some fierce comet of tremendous size, 
To which the stars did reverence, as it passed. 
So he through learning and through fancy took 
His flight sublime, and on the loftiest top 
Of Fame's dread mountain sat ; not soiled and worn, 
As if he from the earth had labored up ; 
But as some bird of heavenly plumage fair. 
He looked, which down from higher regions came. 
And perched it there, to see what lay beneath. 

The nations gazed, and wondered much, and praised. 

Critics before him fell in humble plight. 

Confounded fell, and made debasing signs 

To catch his eye, and stretched, and swelled themseWes 

To bursting nigh, to utter bulky words 

Of admiration vast : and many, too. 

Many that aimed to imitate his flight, 

With weaker wing, unearthly fluttering made, 

And gave abundant sport to after days. 

Great man ! the nations gazed, and wondered much, 
And praised ; and many called his evil good. 



261 



Wits wrote in favor of his wickedness, 

And kings to do h\m honor took delight. 

Thus, full of titles, flattery, honor, fame, 

Beyond desire, beyond ambition, full. 

He died. He died of what ? Of ^vTetchedness ;— 

Drank every cup of joy, heard every trump 

Of fame, drank early, deeply drank, drank draughts 

That common millions might have quenched ; then 

died 
Of thirst, because there was no more to drink. 
His goddess, Nature, wooed, embraced, enjoyed, 
Fell from his arms, abhorred ; his passions died. 
Died, all but dreary, solitary Pride ; 
And all his sympathies in being died. 
As some ill- guided bark, well built and tall, 
Which angry tides cast out on desert shore, 
And then, retiring, left it there to rot 
And moulder in the winds and rains of heaven ; 
So he, cut from the sympathies of life. 
And cast ashore from pleasure's boisterous surge, 
A wandering, weary, worn, and wretched thing, 
Scorched, and desolate, and blasted soul, 
A gloomy wilderness of dying thought, — 
Repined, and groaned, and withered from the earth 
His groanings filled the land, his numbers filled ; 
And yet ho seemed ashamed to groan ; — Poor man- 
Ashamed to ask, and yet he needed help. 

Proof this, beyond all lingering of doubt, 
That not with natural or mental wealth, 
Was God delighted, or his peace secured ; 
That not in natural or mental wealth. 
Was human happmess or grandeur found. 
Attempt how monstroiis, and how surely vain I 
With things of earthly sort, with aught but God, 
With aught but moral excellence, truth and love, 



S03 THB COTTBSE OF TTKB. 

To satisfy and fill th.e immortal soul ! 

Attempt, vain inconceivably ! attempt 

To satisfy the Ocean with a drop, 

To marry Immortality to Death, 

And with the unsubstantial Shade of Time, 

To fill the embrace of all eternity I 



COURSE OF TIME, 

BOOK y. 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK V. 



In this Book the Bard sketches the " Joys of Time." Whethei 
happiness or misery preponderated, and where happines* 
might i)e found, were subjects of debate among men. True 
happines.s had no exchigive locaUty^ bit wa.s witlun the reach 
of all. Slie always went m company with duty. 

Among the numerous contributions to this happiness were the 
joys of childhood, the joys of maternal atlt^uon, the jt)ys of 
youthful love, the joys of friendship The study of nature, and 
conleinplation of earth's .scenery, also afforded iheir joys, Joys 
were felt in anticipations of the future ; in recollections of the 
past; in repose after labor; even in grief. 

From these sources ail men experienced joy ; but the pious man 
shared the highest degree. 

A.nd finally, in earth's history, there came a period when general 
joy pervaded it. This was tne " thousand y* ars" of Wes.siah't 
reign, foretold by the prcphet^s, p.eceded oy a iC.riUo conieaj 
between the opposiiig powers of Truth aiid Error. 



COURSE OF TIME. 
BOOK V. 

PftAiSE God, ye servants of the Lord ! praise Gtxl, 
Ye angels strong ! praise God, ye sons of men ! 
Praise him who made, and who redeemed your souJe 
Who gave you hope, reflection, reason, will; 
lifinds that can pierce eternity remote, 
And live at once on futiure, present, past ; 
Can speculate on systems yet to make, 
And back recoil on ancient days of Time, 
Of Time, soon past, soon lost among the shades 
Of buried years. Not so the actions done 
In Time, the deeds of reasonable men. 
Ajs if engraven with pen of iron grain. 
And laid in flinty rock, they stand, unchang^ed, 
Written on the various pages of the past ; 
li good, in rosy characters of love ; 
U bad, in letters of vindictive fire. 

God may forgive, but cannot blot them out. 
Systems begin and end, Eternity 
Rolls on his endless years, and men, absolved 
By mercy from the consequence, forget 
The evil deed, and God imputes it not; 
But neither systems ending nor begun. 
Eternity that rolls his endless yearSj 
25 



266 THE COUKSE OF TIME. 

Nor men absolved, and sanctified, and washed 
By mercy from the consequence, nor yet 
Forgetfubiess, nor God imputing not. 
Can wash the guilty deecl once done, from out 
The faithful annals of the past : who reads, 
And many read, there tinds it, as it was. 
And is, and shall for ever be, — a dark. 
Unnatural, and loathly moral spct. 

The span of Time was short, indeed ; and now 
Three-fourths were past, the last begun, and on 
Careering to its close, which soon we slag. 
But first our promise we redeem, to tell 
The jo^^ of Time, her joys of native growth ; 
And briefly mxLSt, what longer tale deserves. 

Wake, dear remembrances ! wake, childhowl 
days ! 
Loves, friendships, wake ! and wake, thou mom an4 



even 



Sun ! -with thy orient locks ; night, moon, and stars 
And thou, celestial bow ! and all ye woods, 
And hills, and vales, first trod in dau-ning life. 
And hours of holy musing, wake ! wake, earth 
And, smiling to remembrance, come, and bring. 
For thou canst bring, meet argument for song 
Of heavenly harp, meet hearing for the ear 
Of heavenly auditor, exalted high. 

God gave much peace on earth, much holy joy; 
Oped foimtains of perennial spring, whence flowed 
Abundant happiness to all who wished 
Td drink ; not perfect bliss ; — that dwells with us, 
beneath the eyelids of the Eternal One, 
And sits at his right hand alone ; — but such 
kA well deserved the name, abundant joj » 



._J 



267 



Pleasxires, on which the memory of saints 
3f highest glory, still delights to dwell. 

It was, we o\^^^, subject of much debate, 
And worthy men stood on opposing sides. 
Whether the cup of mortal life had more 
Of sour or sweet. Vain question this, when {.ske<I 
In general terms, and worthy to be left 
Unsolved. If most was sour, the drinker, not 
The cup, we blame. Each in himseli" the means 
Possessed to turn the bitter sweet, the sweet 
To bitter. Hence, from out the self-same fount, 
One nectar drank, another draughts of gall. 
Hence, from the self-same quarter of the sky, 
One saw ten thousand angels look and smile ; 
Another saw as many demons frown. 
One discord heard, where harmony inclined 
Another's ear. The sweet was in the taste, 
Tlie beauty in the eye, and in the ear 
The melody ; and in the man, — for God 
Necessity of siniung laid on none, — 
To form the taste, to purify the eye, 
And tune the ear, that all he tasted, saw. 
Or heard, might be harmonious, sweet, gad fair. 
Who woidd, might groan ; who would, might sing 
for joy. 

Nature lamented little. IJndevoured 
By spurious appetites, she found enough. 
Where least was found ; with gleanings satisfied, 
Or criunbs, that from the hand of luxury fell ; 
Yet seldom these she ate, but ate the bread 
Of her own industry, made sweet by toil ; 
And walked in robes that her o^^^l hand had spun ; 
And slept on down her early iisii\g bought. 
Frugal and diligent in business, chaste 



268 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

And abstinent, she stored for helpless age, 

And, keeping in reserve her spring-day health. 

And dawning relishes of life, she drank j 

Her evening cup with excellent appetite ; I 

And saw her eldest sun decline, as fair 

As rose her earliest mom, and pleased as well. j 

Whether in crowds or solitudes, in streets 
Or shady groves, dwelt Happiness, it seems 

In vain to ask ; her nature makes it vain ; j 

Though poets much, and hermits talked, and sung ; 

Of brooks, and crystal founts, and weeping dews, j 

And myrtle bowers, and solitary vales, i 

And with the nymph made assignations there, ! 

And wooed her with the love-sick oaten reed ; i 

And sages too, although less positive, I 

Advised their sons to court her in the shade. j 

Delirious babble all ! Was happiness, j 
Was self- approving, God-approving joy, 

In drops of dew, however pure ? in gales, | 

However sweet ? in wells, however clear ? | 

Or groves, however thick with verdant shade ? I 

I 

True, these were of themselves exceeding fair : j 

How fair at mom and even ! worthy the walk I 

Of loftiest mind, and gave, when all within i 

Was right, a feast of overflowing bUss ; 

But were the occasion, not the cause of joy. 1 

They waked the native fountains of the soul, j 

Which slept before ; and stirred the holy tides j 

Of feeling up, giving the heart to drink i 

From its own treasures draughts of perfect sweet. | 

The Christian faith, which better knew the hear* 

Of man, him thither sent for peace, and thus ji 
Declared : Who finds it, let him find i'. there ; 



269 



Who finds it not, for ever let him seek 

In vain ; 'tis God's most holy, changoless will. 

True Happiness had no localities, 
No tones provincial, no peculiar garb. 
WTiere Duty went, she went, with Justice \vent» 
And went with Meekness, Charity, and Love. 
"Where'er a tear was dried, a wounded heart 
Bound up, a bruised spirit with the dew 
Of sjTnpathy anointed, or a pang 
Of honest suffering soothed, or injury 
Repeated oft, as oft by love forgiven ; 
Where'er an evil passion was subdued, 
Or Virtue's feeble embers fanned ; where'er 
A sin was heartOy abjured, and left ; 
"Where'er a pious act was done, or breathed 
A pious prayer, or wished a pious wish ; 
There was a high and holy place, a spot 
Of sacred light, a most religious fane, 
"Where Happiness, descending, sat and smiled. 

But these apart, in sacred memory lives 
The morn of life, first morn of endless days, 
Most joj^ul morn ! nor yet for nought the joy, 
A being of eternal date commenced, 
A young immortal then was born ! and who 
Shall tell what strange variety of bhss 
Burst on the inlant soul, when first it looked 
Abroad on God's creation fair, and saw 
The glorious earth and glorious heaven, and face 
Of man sublime, and saw all new, and felt 
A.11 new ! when thought awoke, though nevei 

more 
To sleep ! when first it saw, heard, reasoned 

willed, 
A;id triumphed in the warmth of conscious liie ! 
23* 



270 THE COURSE OF TlalB. 

Nor happy only, but the cause of joy, 
Which those who never tasted always mourned. 
What tongue ! — no tongue shall tell what blisi 

o'erfiowed 
ITie mother's tender heart, while round her hung 
The offspring of her love, and lisped her name, 
As living jewels dropped unstained from heaven, 
That made her fairer far, and sweeter seem, 
Than every ornament of costliest hue ! 
And who hath not been ravished, as she passed 
With all her playful band of little ones, 
LOce Luna, with her daughters of the sky. 
Walking in matron majpsty and grace? 
All who had hearts here pleasure found : and oft 
Have I, when tired with heavy task, — for tasks 
Were heavy in the world below, — relaxed 
My weary thought^ among their guiltless sport» 
And led them by their little hands a-field. 
And watched them run and crop the tempting flowe*. 
Which oft, unasked, they brought me, and bestowed 
With smiling face, that waited for a look 
Of praise, — and answered curious questions, put 
In much simplicity, but ill to solve ; 
And heard their observations strange and new, 
And settled whiles their Kttle quarrels, soon 
Ending in peace, and soon forgot in love. 
And still I looked upon their loveHness, 
And sought through nature for similitudes 
Of perfect beauty, innocence, and bliss, 
And fairest imagery around me thronged ; 
Dew-drops at day-spring on a seraph's locks, 
Koses that bathe about the well of life, 
Young Loves, young Hopes, dancing on Morning* 

cheek. 
Gems leaping in the coronet of Love ! 
V beautiful, so full of life, they seemed 



271 



As made entire of beams of angels' eyes. I 

Gay, guileless, sportive, lovely, little things ! ' 

Playing around the den of Sorrow, clad 
In smiles, belioA'ing in their fairy hopes, 
And thinking man and woman true ! all joy, 
Happy all day, and happy all the night ! 

Hail, holy Love ! thou word that sums all bliaSs 
Gives and receives all bliss, fullest when most 
Thou givest ! spring-head of all felicity, 
Deepest when most is drawn I emblem of God ! 
O'erflowing most when greatest numbers drink ! 
Essence that binds the uncreated Three, 
Chain that unites creation to its Lord, 
Centre to which all being gravitates, 
Eternal, ever-growing, happy Love ! 
Enduring all, hoping, forgivdng all ; || 

Listead of law, fulfilling every law ; 
Entirely blest, because thou seek'st no more, 
Hopest not, nor fear'st ; but on tke present livest. 
And hold'st perfection smiling in thy arms. 
Mysterious, infinite, exhaustless Love J 
On earth mysterious, and mysterious still 
In heaven ! sweet chord that harmonizes all 
The harps of Paradise! the spring, the weli, 
Tliat fills tke bowl and banquet of the sky i 

But why shoiild I to thee of Love divine? 
Who happy, and not eloquent of Love? 
Who holy, and, as thou art, pure, and not 
A temple where her glory ever dwells, 
Where bum her fires, and beams her perfect eye? 

Kindred to this, part of this holy fiamo. 
Was youthful love — the sweetest boon of Earth- 
Hail, Love ! first Love, thou word thivt sums all blisa^ 



Ill THE COUUSE OF TIMB. 

The sparkling cream of all Time's bless6<Jnesi^ ,' 

The silken down of liappincss complete ! [; 

Discemer of the ripest grapes of joy, ji 

She gathered, and selected with her hand, [i 

All tii^est relishes, all fairest sights, 

All rarest odoi-s, all divinest sounds. 

All thoughts, all feelings dearest to the soul ; 

And brought the holy mixture home, and filled 

The heart with all superlatives of bliss \ 

But, who would that expound, which words transcend% 

Must talk in vain, l^ehold a meeting scene 

Of early love, and thence infer its worth. 



It was an eve of Autumn's holiest mood. 
The corn fields bathed in Cynthia's silver light. 
Stood ready for the reaper's gathering hand ; 
And all the Winds slept soundly. Nature seemed. 
In silent contemplation, to adore 
Its Maker. Now and then, the aged leaf 
Fell from its fellows, rustling to the ground ; 
And, as it fell, bade man think on his end. 
On vale and lake, on wood and mountain high. 
With pensive wing outspread, sat heavenly Though^ 
Conversing with itself. Vesper looked forth. 
From out her western hermitage, and smiled ; 
And up the east, unclouded, rode the Moon 
With all her Stars, gazing on earth intense. 
As 11 she saw some wonder walking there. 

Such was the night, so lovely, still, serene^ 
When, by a hermit thorn that on the Mil 
Had seen a hundred fiowery ages pass, 
A damsel kneeled to offer up her prayer. 
Her prayer nightly oifered, nightly heard. 
1 his ancient thorn had been the meetiijg place 
» >i love, before his covmtry's voice had called 



I 



275 



rhe ardent youth to fields of honor far 
Beyond the wave : and hither now repaired. 
Nightly, the maid, by God's all -seeing eye 
Seen only, while she sought this boon alone, 
2^ "Her lover's safety, and his quick return."^ 
In holy, humble attitude she kneeled, 
jgg^nd to her bosom, fair as moonbeam, pressed 
"^^ One hand, the other lifted up to heaven. 

Her eye, upturned, bright as the star of mom. 

As violet meek, excessive ardor streamed, 

Wafting away her earnest heart to God. 

Her voice, scarce uttered, soft as ZephjT sighs 

On morning lily's cheek, though soft and low, 

Yet heard in heaven, heard at the mercy-s«jat. 

A tear-drop wandered on her lovely face; 

It was a tear of faith and- holy fear. 

Pure as the drops that hang at da%\'ning-time, 

On yonder willows by the stream of life. 

On her the Moon looked steadfastly : the Stars, 

That circle nightly round the eternal Throne, 

Glanced down, well pleased ; and Everlasting Lov» 

Gave gracious audience to her prayer sincere. 

Oh, had her lover seen her thus alone, 
Thus holy, wrestling thus, and all for him ! 
Nor did he not : for oft-times Providence, 
With unexpected joy the fer^'cnt prayer 
Of faith surprised. Returned from long delay. 
With glory crowned of righteous actions won, 
rhe sacred thorn, to memory dear, first sought 
The youth, and found it at the happy hour, 
Just when the damsel kneeled herself to pray. 
Wrapped in devotion, pleading with her God, 
She saw him not, heard not his foot approach. 
All holy images seemed too impure 
To emblem her he saw. A seraph kneeled. 



274 THE coxmsE op time. 

Beseeching for his ward, before the Throne, 
Seemed fittest, pleased him best Sweet was the 

thought ! 
But sweeter still the kind remembrance came, 
That she was flesh and blood, formed for himself, 
The plighted partner of his fatiire life. 
And as they met, embraced, and sat, embowered, :j||i| 
In woody chambers of the starry night, ^^ 

Spirits of love about them ministered. 
And God, approving, blest the holy joy ! 

Nor unremembered in the hour when friends 
Met. Friends, but few on earth, and therefore dear, 
Sought oft, and sought almost as oft in vain ; 
Yet always sought, so native to the heart, 

! So much desired, and coveted by all. 

I Nor wonder thou — thou wonderest not nor need'st, 

; Much beautiful, and excellent, and fair, 

Was seen beneath the sun ; but naught was seen 
More beautiful, or excellent, or fair. 
Than face of faithful friend, fairest when seen 
In darkest day : and many sounds were sweet, 

{ Most ravishing and pleasant to the ear ; 

I But sweeter none than voice of faithful friend, 

I Sweet always, sweetest, heard in loudest storm. 

i Some I remember, and will ne'er forget ; 

! My early friends, friends of my evil day; 

I Friends in my mirth, friends in my misery too ; 

{ Friends given by God in mercy and in love ; 

j My counsellors, my comforters, and guides ; 

I My joy in grie^ my second bliss in joy ; 

I Companions of my young desires; in doubt, 

' My oracles, my Avings in high pursuit. 

Oh, I remember, and will ne'er forget, 

j Our meeting spots, our chosen, sacred hours, 



I Out burning words that uttered aU the soul. 



27k 



Our faces beaming with unearthly love ; 

Borrow with sorrow sighing, hope with hope 

Exulting, heart embracing heart entire. 

As birds of social feather helping each 

His fellow's flight, we soared into the skies, 

And cast the clouds beneath our feet, and Earth 

With all her tardy, leaden-footed Cares, 

And talked the speech and ate the food of heaven ! 

These I remember, these selectest men, 

And woidd their names record ; but what avails 

My mention of their name ? Before the Throne 

They stand illustrious 'mong the loudest harps. 

And will receive thee glad, my friend and theirs. 

lor all are friends in heaven, all faithlul friends.' 

And many friendships, in the days of Time 

Begun, are lasting here, and growing still ; 

So grows ours evermore, both theirs and mine. 

Nor is the hour of lonely walk forgot, 
In the mde desert, where the view was large. 
Pleasant were many scenes, but most to me 
The solitude of vast extent, untouched 
By hand of art, where Nature sowed, herself, 
And reaped her crops ; whose garments were the 

clouds, 
Whose minstrels, brooks ; whose lamps, the moon and 

stars; 
Whose organ-choir, the voice of many waters ; 
Whose banquets, morning dews"; whose heroes, 

storms ; 
Whose warriors, mighty winds ; whose lovers, flowers ; 
WTiose orators, the thunderbolts of God ; 
WTiose palaces, the everlasting hills; 
Whose ceiling, heaven's unfathomable blue ; 
And from whose rocky turrets, battled high. 
Prospect immense spread out on all sides round. 



JfTS THE COCRSE OT TIMB. 

Lost now between the welkin and the mam, 
Now walled with hills that slept above tlte itono. 

Mo&t fit was &uch a place for musing men. 
Happiest sometimes, when musing without aim. 
It was, indeed, a wondrous sort of bliss 
The lonely bard enjoyed, when fm-th he walked. 
Unpurposed ; stood, and knew not why ; sat down. 
And knew not where ; arose, and ki-iew not when ; 
Had eyes, and saw not ; ears, and notliiiig heard ; 
And sought — sought neither heaven nor earth — sosigh 

naught, 
Nor meant to think ; but ran, meantira.e,. through vasj 
Of visionary things, fairer than aught 
That was ; and saw the distant tops of thoughts. 
WTiich men of common stature never saw. 
Greater than aught that largest words could hold. 
Or give idea o^ to those who read. 
He entered in to Nature's holy place. 
Her inner chamber, and beheld her face 
Vnvciled ; and heard unutterable things^ 
And incommunicable visions saw ; 
Things then unutterable, and visions then 
Of incommunicable glorj- bright ; 
But by the lips of after ages formed 
To words, or by their pencil pictured forth ; 
"Who, entering farther in, beheld again. 
And heard unspeakable and marveloxis things, 
■VSTiich other ages in their turn revealed, 
And left to others, greater wonders still. 

The earth abounded much in silent wastes; 
Nor yet is heaven without its solitudes, 
Else incomplete in bliss, whither who vi-ill 
May oft retire, and meditate alone, 
Of God, redemption, holiness, and love ) 



27' 



Nor needs to fear a setting sun, or haste 

Hiin home from rainy tempest vmforseen, 

Or, sighing, leave his thoughts for want of time. 

But whatsoever was both good and fair, 
And highest relish of enjo}-ment gave, 
In intellectual exercise was found. 
When, gazing through the future, present, past. 
Inspired, thought linked to thought, harmonioiu 

flowed 
In poetrj' — the loftiest mood of mind ; 
Or when philosophy the reason led 
Deep through the outward circumstance of things; 
And saw the master- wheels of Nature move; 
And travelled far along the endless line 
Of certain and of probable ; and made, 
At every step, a new discovery, 

That gave the soul sweet sense of larger room ^ 

High these pursmts, and sooner to be named. 
Deserved ; at present, only named, again 
To be resumed, and praised in longer verse. 

Abundant and diversified above 
All niunber, were the sources of delight ; 
As infinite as were the Ups that drank ; 
And to the ptire, all innocent and pure ; 
The simplest stiU to wisest men the best. 
One made acquaintanceship with plants and flower*, 
And happy grew in telling all their names ; 
One classed the quadrupeds ; a third, the fowls ; 
Another found in minerals his joy : 
And I have seen a man, a worthy man. 
In happy mood conversing with a fly ; 
And as he, through his glass, made by himself^ 
Beheld its wondrous eye and plvunage fine, 
From leaping scarce he kept, for perfect joy. 
24 



278 THE cot USE of timb. 

And from my path. I with my friend have turned, 
A man of excellent mind and excellent heart, 
And climbed the neighboring hill, with arduous step^ 
Fetching from distant cairii, or from the earth 
Digging, with labor sure, the ponderous stone. 
Which, having carried to the highest top, 
We downward rolled ; and as it strove, at first, 
With obstacles that seemed to match its force, 
With feeble, crooked motion to and fro 
Wavering, he looked with interest most intense, 
And prayed almost ; and as it gathered strength, 
And straightened the current of its furious flow, 
Exulting in the swiftness of its course. 
And, rising now with rainbow-bound immense, 
Leaped down careering o'er the subject plain, 
He clapped his hands in sign of boundless bliss. 
And laughed and talked, Avell paid for all his toil : 
And when at night the story was rehearsed, 
Uncommon glory kindled in his eye. 

And there were, too, — Harp ! lift thy voice on high. 
And run in rapid numbers o'er the face 
Of Nature's scenery, — and there were day 
And night, and rising suns and setting suns, 
And clouds that seemed like chariots of saints, 
By fiery coursers drawn, as brightly hued 
As if the glorious, bushy, golden locks 
Of thoTisand cherubim had been shorn off, 
And on the temples hung of JMom and Even. 
And there were moons, and stars, and darknesi 

streaked 
With light; and voice and tempest heard secure, 
And there were seasons coming evermore. 
And going still, all fair, and always new. 
With bloom, and fruit, and fields of hoary grain. 
4iid there were hills of flock, and groves of song. 



27i 



Ajid flowery streams, and garden walks embowered, 
Where, side by side, the rose and lily bloomed ; 
And sacred founts, wild harps, and moonlight gleiis, 
And forests vast, fair lawns, and lonely oaks, 
And little willows, sipping at the brook ; 
Old wizard haimts, and dancing seats of mirth; 
Gay festive bowers, and palaces in dust; 
Dark owlet nooks, and caves, and battled rocks ; 
And winding valleys, roofed wdth pendent shade ; 
And tall and perilous cliffs, that overlooked 
The breadth of Ocean, sleeping on his waves ; 
Soimds, sights, smells, tastes, the heaven and earth, 

profuse 
In endless sweets, above all praise of song : 
For not to use alone did Providence 
Abound ; but large example gave to man 
Of grace, and ornament, and splendor rich, 
Suited abundantly to every taste, 
In bird, beast, fish, winged and creeping thing. 
In herb and flower, and in the restless change, 
Which, on the many-colored seasons, made 
The annual circuit of the fruitful earth. 

Nor do I avight of earthly sort remember, — 
If partial feeling to my native place 
Lead not my lyre astray, — of fairer view, 
And comelier walk, than the blue movintain-paths, 
And snowy cliffs of Albion renowned ; 
Albion, an isle long blessed with gracious laws. 
And gracious kings, and favored much of Heaven, 
Though yielding oft penurious gratitude. 
Nor do I of that isle remember aught 
Of prospect more sublime and beautiful, 
Than Scotia's northern battlement of hills. 
Which first I from my father's house beheld. 
At dawn of life ; beloved in memory still, 



280 THE COURSE OF TIME 

And standard still of rural imagery. 
What most resembles them, the fairest seem«, 
And stirs the eldest sentiments of bliss ; 
And, pictured on the tablet of my heart, 
I'heir distant shapes eternally remain, 
And in my dreams their cloudy tops arise. 

Much of my native scenery appears, 
And presses forward to be in my song ; 
But must not now, for much behind awaits 
Of higher note. Four trees I pass not by, 
Which o'er our house their evening shadow threw ; 
Three ash, and one of elm. Tall trees they were 
And old, and had been old a century 
Before my day. None living could say aught 
About their youth ; but they were goodly trees 
And oft I wondered, — as I sat and thought 
Beneath their summer shade, or, in the night 
Of winter, heard the spirits of the wind 
Growling among their boughs, — how they had grown 
So high, in such a rough tempestuous place; 
And when a hapless branch, torn by the blast, 
Fell down, I moximed, as if a friend had fallen. 

These I distinctly hold in memory still, 
And all the desert scenery around. 
Nor strange, that recollection there should dwell, 
Where first I heard of God's redeeming love ; 
First felt and reasoned, loved and was beloved ; 
And first awoke the harp to holy song. 

To hoar and green there was enough of joy. 
Hopes, friendships, charities, and warm pursuit, 
Gave coixifortable flow to youthful blood. 
And there were old remembrances of days, 
VMien, on the glittering dews of orient life. 



281 



Shone sunshine hopes, \mfailed, unperjured, then ; 

And there were childish sports, and school- boy feata 

And school-boy spots, and earnest vows of love, 

Uttered, Avhen passion's boisterous tide ran high, 

Sincerely uttered, though but seldom kept : 

And there were angel looks, and sacred hours 

Of rapture, hours that in a moment passed, 

And yet were wished to last for evermore ; 

And venturous exploits, and hardy deeds, 

And bargains shrewd, achieved in manhood's prifxe 

And thousand recollections, gay and sweet, 

WTiich, as the old and venerable man 

Approached the grave, around him, smiling, flocked. 

And breathed new ardor through his ebbing veins. 

And touched his lips with endless eloquence. 

And cheered and much refreshed his withered heart 

Indeed, each thing remembered, all but guilt. 
Was pleasant, and a constant source of joy. 
Nor lived the old on memory alone. 
He in his children lived a second life, 
With them again took root, sprang mth their hopes, 
Entered into their schemes, partook their fears. 
Laughed in their mirth, and in their gain grew rich. 
And sometimes on the eldest cheek was seen 
A smile as hearty as on face of youth, 
That saw in prospect simny hopes invite, 
Hope s pleasures, sung to harp of sweetest note, 
Harp, heard with rapture on Britannia's hills, 
With rapture heard by me, in morn of life. 

Nor small the joy of rest to mortal men. 
Rest after labor, sleep approaching soft, 
And wrapping all the weary faculties 
In sweet repose. Then Fancy, imrestrained 
By sense or judgment, strange confusion made 
24* 



282 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Of future, present, past, combining things 

Unseemly, tilings unsociable in nature, 

In most absurd communion, laughable, 

Though sometimes vexing sore the slumbering souL 

Sporting at will, she, through her airy halls, 

With moonbeams paved, and canopied with stars, 

And tapestried with marvelous imagery, 

And shapes of glory, infinitely fair, 

Moving and mixing in most wondrous dance, — 

Fantastically walked, but pleased so well, 

That ill she liked the judgment's voice severe, 

^Vhich called her home when noisy morn awoke. 

And oft she sprang beyond the botmds of Time, 

On her swift pinion lifting up the souls 

Of righteous men, on high to God and heaven, 

Where they beheld unuttciuble things ; 

And heard the glorious music of the blessed, 

Circling the throne of the Eternal Three ; 

And, with the spirits unincarnate, took 

Celestial pastime, on the hills of God, 

Forgetful of the gloomy pass between. 

Some dreams were useless, moved by turbid course 
or animal disorder ; not so all. 
L'eep moral lessons some impressed, that naught 
Could afterwards deface : and oft in dreams, 
The master passion of the soul displayed 
His huge deformity, concealed by day, 
Warning the sleeper to beware, awake: 
And oft in dreams, the reprobate and vile, 
Unpardonable sinner, — as he seemed 
Toppling upon the perilous edge of hell, — 
[n dreadful apparition, saw before 
tlis visions pass the shadows of the damned ; 
And saw the glare of hollo av, cursed eyes 
Spring from the skirts of the infernal night ; 



283 



A.nd saw the sdtils of w'icked men, new dead, 
Hy devils hearsed into the fiery gulf; 
Anil heard the burning of the endless flames; 
And heard the weltering of the waves of wTath; 
Ajid sometimes, too, before his fancy, passed 
The Worm that never dies, wTithing its folds 
In hideous sort, and with eternal Death 
Held horrid colloquy, giving the wretch 
Unwelcome earnest of the wo to come. 
But these we leave, as \uibefitting song, 
That promised happy narrative of joy. 

But what, of all the joys of earth, was most 
Of native growth, most proper to the soil. 
Not elsewhere known, in worlds that never fell. 
Was joy that sprung from disappointed wo. 
The joy in grief, the pleasure after pain, 
Fears turned to hopes, meetings expected not, 
Deliverances from dangerous attitudes. 
Better for worse, and best sometimes for worst. 
And all the seeming ill ending in good, — 
A sort of happiness composed, which none 
Has had experience of, but mortal man ; 
Yet not to be despised. Look back, and one 
Behold, who would not give her tear for all 
The smiles that dance about the cheek of Mirth. 

Among the tombs she walks at noon of night. 
In miserable garb of widowhood. 
Observe her yonder, sickly, pale, and sad, 
Bending her wasted body o'er the grave 
Of him who was the hiisband of her youth. 
The moonbeams, trembling through these ancient 

' yews, 
That stand like ranks of mourners round the bed 
Of death , fall dismally upon her face. 



284 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Her little, hollow, withered face, almost 

In\'isible, so worn away with avo. 

The tread of hasty foot, parsing so late, 

Disturbs her not ; nor yet the roar of mirth, 

From neighboring revelry ascending loud. 

She hears, sees naught, fears naught. One thought 

alone 
Fills all her heart and soul, half hoping, half 
Remembering, sad, unutterable thought ! 
Uttered by silence and by tears alone. 
Sweet tears ! the awful language, eloquent 
Of infinite affection, far too big 
For words. She sheds not many now. That grass, 
Which springs so rankly o'er the dead, has drunk 
Already many showers of grief; a drop 
V V two are all that now remain behind, 

from her eye that darts strange fiery beams, 
A ^ry intervals, drip down her cheek, 
FaUiiigj lost mournfully from bone to bone. 
But yet she wants not tears. That babe, that hangi 
Upon her breast, that babe that never saw 
Its father — he was dead before its birth — 
Helps her to weep, weeping before its time, 
Taught sorrow by the mother's melting voice, 
Repeating oft the father's sacred name. 
Be not surprised at this expense of wo ! 
The man she moiorns was all she called her own, 
The music of her ear, light of her eye, 
Desire of all her heart, her hope, her fear, 
The element in which her passions lived, 
Dead now, or dying all : nor long shall she 
Visit that place of skulls. Night after night. 
She wears herself away. The moonbeam, now« 
That falls upon her unsubstantial frame, 
Scarce finds obstruction ; and upon her bones, 
Barren as leaHess boughs in winter -time, 



Her infant fasten** his little hands, as oft. 

Forgetful, she leaves him a while unheld. 

But, look, she passes not away in gloom. 

A light from far illumes her face, a light 

That comes beyond the moon, beyond the sun— 

The light of truth divine, the glorious hope 

Of resurrection at the promised mom. 

And meetings then which ne'er shall part again. 

Indulge another note of kindred tone, 
Where grief was mixed with melancholy joy. 

Our sighs were numerous, and profuse our tear* 
For she, we lost, was lovely, and we loved 
Her much. Fresh in our memory, as fresh 
As yesterday, is yet the day she died. 
It was an April day ; and blithely all 
The youth of nature leaped beneath the sun, 
And promised glorious manhood; and o\ir hearts 
Were glad, and round them danced the lightaonie 

blood, 
In healthy merriment, when tidings came, 
A child was bom : and tidings came again. 
That she who gave it birth was sick to death. 
So Bwift trode sorrow on the heels of joy ! 
We gathered round her bed, and bent our knees 
In fervent supplication to the Thi-one 
Of Mercy, and perfumed our prayers with sighs 
Sincere, and penitential tears, and looks 
Of self-abasement ; but we sought to stay 
An angel on the earth, a spirit ripe 
For heaven ; and Mercy, in her love, refused, 
Most merciful, as oft, when seeming least ! 
Most gracious when she seemed the most to £rown I 
The room I well remember, and the bed 
On which she lay, and all the faces, too» 



2^6 THE COUKSB OF TIME. ] 

ii 

That crowded dark and mournfully around. j! 

Her father there and mother, bending, stood ; jj 

And do-\\n\ their aged checks fell niany drops jj 

Of bitterness. Her husband, too, was there, li 

And brothers, and they wept ; her sisters, too, j| 

Did weep and sorrow, comfortless ; and I, •) 

Too, wept, though not to weeping given ; and all ij 

Within the house was dolorous and sad. 

riiis I remember well ; but better still, : 

I do remember, and "natII ne'er forget, 

Thedjingeye! That eye alone was bright, 

And brighter grew, as nearer death approached. 

As I have seen the gentle little floAver 

Look fairest in the silver beam which fell, 

Reflected from the thunder-cloud that soon \ 

Came downi, and o'er the desert scattered far j 

And AA-ide its loveliness. She made a sign . 

To bring her babe — 't was brought, and by her placed 

She looked upon its face that neither smiled 

Nor wept, nor knew who gazed upon 't ; and laid 

Her hand upon its httle breast, and sought 

For it, with look that seemed to penetrate 

The heavens, untitterable blessings, such 

^s God to djing parents only granted, 

For infants left behind them in the world. 

" God keep my child ! " we heard her say, and heari' 

No more. The Angel of the Covenant 

Was come, and, faithful to liis promise, stood 

Prepared to walk with her through death's dark valu 

And now her eyes grew bright, and brighter still. 

Too bright for ours to look upon, suffused 

With many tears, and closed without a cloud. 

They set as sets the morning star, which goes 

Not doA^-n behind the d;u-kened west, nor hiden 

Obscured among the tempests of the sky. 

But melts away into the light of heaven. 



Loves, friendsaips, hopes, and dear remembrances* 
The kind embracings of the heart, and hours 
Of happy thought, and smiles coming to tears, 
And glories of the heaven and starry cope 
Above, and glories of the earth beneath, — 
These were the rays that wandered through the gloom 
Of mortal Ufe ; wells of the "VNolderness, 
Redeeming features in the face of Time, 
Sweet drops, that made the mixed cup of Earth 
A palatable draught — too bitter else. 

About the joys and pleasures of the world, 
This question was not seldom in debate : 
Whether the righteous man, or sinner, had 
The greatest share, and relished them the most ? 
Truth gives the answer thus, gives it distinct. 
Nor needs to reason long : The righteous man. 
For what was he denied of earthly growth. 
Worthy the name of good ? Truth answers, NaugliL 
Had he not appetites, and sense, and will ? 
Might he not eat, if Providence allowed, 
The finest of the wheat ? Might he not drink 
The choicest wine r True, he was temperate ; 
But, then, was temperance a foe to peace ? 
Might he not rise and clothe himself in gold ? 
Ascend, and stand in palaces of kings ? 
True, he was honest still, and charitable : 
Were, then, these virtues foes to human peace ? 
Might he not do exploits, and gain a name ? 
Most true, he trode not down a fellow's right. 
Nor walked up to a throne on skulls of men : 
Were justice, then, and mercy, foes to peace ? 
Had he not Mendships, loves, and smiles, and hop€« 
Sat not around his table sons and daughters ? 
Was not his ear with music pleased ? his eye 
With light ? his nostrils with perfumes r his lips 



2S8 THE COtrliSE OF TIME. 

With pleasant relishes ? Grew not his herds I 

Fell not the rain upon his luearlows ? reaped 

He not his han'ests : ;mcl did not his heart 

Revel, at ^^•ill, tlirongh all the charities 

And sympatliies of nature, uncontined ? 

And were not these all sweetened and sanctified 

l?y dews of holiness, shed from above? 

Mi.i?ht he not walk through Fancy's airy halls J 

Might he not History's ample page survey ? 

Might he not, tinally, explore the depths 

Of mental, moral, natural, di^'ine ? 

But why enumerate thus ? One word enough. 

There was no joy in all created things, 

No drop of sweet, that tiirned not ii» the end 

To sour, of which the righteous man did not 

Partake ; partake, invited by the voice 

Of God, his Father's voice, who gave him all 

His heart's desire : and o'er the sinner still, 

The Christiim had tliis one advantage more, 

That when his earthly pleasures failed — and fail 

They always did to every soul of man, — 

He sent his hopes on high, looked up and reached 

His sickle forth, and reaped the helds of heaven. 

And plucked the clusters from the vines of God. 

Nor was the general aspect of the world 
Always a moral waste. A time there came, 
Though few believed it e'er should come ; a time, 
Tj-ped by the Sabbath day recurring once 
In seven, and by the year of rest indulged 
Septennial to the lands on Jordan's banks ; 
A time foretold by Judah's bards in words 
Of fire ; a tiaie, seventh pait of time, and set 
Before the eighth and last, the Sabbath day 
3f all the earth, when all had rest and peaces 
Before its coming many to and fro 



28V 



Ran, ran from various caiise ; by many sent 
From various cause, uprii;ht and crooked both. 
Some sent and ran for love of souls, sincere 
And more, at instance of a holy name. 
With godly zeal much vanity was mixed ; 
And circumstance of gaudy ci\'il pomp ; 
And speeches buying praise for praise : and lists, 
And endless scrolls, surcharged with modest names 
That sought the public eye ; and stories, told 
In quackish phrase, that hurt their credit, even 
\\Ticn true ; combined with, wise and prudent means, 
Much wheat, much chaf£, much gold, and much alloy; 
But God \\TOUght with the whole, WTOught most with 

what 
To man seemed weakest means, and brought result 
Of good, from good and evil both ; and breathed 
Into the withered nations breath of life, 
The breath of life, of liberty and truth. 
By means of knowledge, breathed into the souL 

Then was the e^il day of t\Tanny, 
Of kingly and of priestly t}Taimy, 
That bruised the nations long. As yet, no state 
Beneath the heavens had tasted freedom's wine, 
ITiough loud of freedom was the talk of all. 
Some groaned more deeply, being heavier tasked ; 
Some wrought with straw, and some without ; but all 
Were slaves, or meant to be ; for rulers, still. 
Had been of equal mind, excepting few, 
Crufd, rapacious, tjTannous, and vile, 
An 1 had with equal shotilder propped the Beast. 
A.S yet, the Church, the holy spouse of God, 
In members few, had wandered in her weeds 
^)i" mourning, persecuted, scorned, reproached. 
And buifeted, and killed ; in members few, 
Thougli seeming many whiles ; then fewest, oil, 
2o 



290 THE COUUSE OF TIME. 

When seeming most. She still had hung her harp 

Upon the willow -tree, and sighed, and wept 

From age to age. Satan began the war, 

And aD his angels, and all wicked men, 

Against her fought by wliile, or fierce attack, 

Six thousand years ; but fought in vain. She stood 

Troubled on every side, but not distressed; 

Weeping, but yet despairing not ; cast down. 

But not destroyed : for she upon the pahns 

Of God was graven, and precious in his sight, 

As apple of his eye ; and, like the bush 

On Midia's mountain seen, burned unconsumed ; 

But to the wilderness retiring, dwelt, 

Debased in sackcloth, and forlorn in tears. 

As yet had s\mg the scarlet-colored WTiore, 
Who on the breast of civil power reposed 
Her harlot head, (the Church a harlot then. 
When first she wedded civil power,) and dranx 
The blood of martyred saints, — whose priests were 

lords, 
Whose coffers held the gold of every land, 
Who held a cup of all pollutions full, 
WTio with a double horn the people pushed, 
And raised her forehead, full of blasphemy. 
Above the holy God, usurping oft 
Jehovah's incommunicable names. 
The nations had been dark ; the Jews had pined, 
Scattered, without a name, beneath the Cxurse ; 
VVar had abounded, Satan raged, unchained ; 
And earth had still been black vdth moral gloom. 

But now the cry of men oppressed went up 
Before the Lord, and to remembrance came 
The tears of all liis saints, their tears, and groans. 
Wise men had read the number of the name ; 



291 



The prophet- J ears had rolled ; the tim.', and times, 
Ajid lialf a time, were now fulfilled complete | 
The seven fierce vials of the wrath of Ciod, 
Poured by seven angels strong, were shed abroad 
Upon the earth and emptied to the dregs ; 
The prophecy for confirmation stood ; 
And all was ready for the sword of God. 

The righteous saw, and tted^ without delay 
Into the chambers of Omnipotence. 
The \vicked mocked, and sought for erring cause, 
To satisfy the dismal state of things; 
The public credit gone, the fear in time 
Of peace, the starving want in time of wealth, 
The insurrection muttering in the streets, 
And pallid consternation spreading wide ; 
And leagues, though holy termed, first ratified 
In hell, on purpose made to under-prop 
Iniquity, and crush the sacred truth. 

Meantime, a mighty angel stood in heaven, 
And cried aloud, "Associate now yourselves, 
Ye princes, potentates, and men of war. 
And mitred heads, associate now yourselves. 
And be dispersed ; embattle, and be broken. 
Gird on your armor, and be dashed to dust. 
Take covmsel, and it shall be brought to naughL 
Speak, and it shall not stand." And suddenly 
The armies of the saints, imbannered, stood 
On Zion hill ; and with them angels stood 
Li squadron bright, and chariots of fire ; 
And with them stood the Lord, clad like a man 
Of war, and, to the sound of thimdcr, led 
The battle on. Earth shook, the kingdoms shook ; 
The Beast, the IjiJig Seer, dominions, fell ; 
Thronos, tyrants fell, confoimded in the dust. 



292 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Boattered and dnven before the breath of God, 

As chaff of summer threshing floor, before 

The wind. Three days the battle wasting slew. 

The sword was full, the arrow drunk with blood ; 

And to the supper of Almighty God, 

Spread in Hamonah's vale, the fowls of heaven. 

And every beast, invited, came, and fed 

On captains' flesh, and drank the olood of kings. 

And, lo ! another angel stood in heaven, 
Crying aloud with mighty voice, " Fallen, fallen, 
Is Babylon the Great, to rise no more. 
Rejoice, ye prophets ! over her rejoice, 
Apostles ! holy men, all saints, rejoice ! 
And glory give to God and to the Lamb." 
And all the armies of disburdened earth, 
As voice of many waters, and as voice 
Of thtmderings, and voice of multitudes, 
Answered, Amen. And every hill and rock, 
And sea, and every beast, answered^ Ameu. 

I Europa answered, and the farthest bovuida 

j Of woody Chili, Asia's fertile coasts. 

And Afiric's burning wastes, answered, Amen. 
And Heaven, rejoicing, answered back, Amen. 

Not so the wicked. They afar were heard 
Lamenting. Kings, who drank her cup of whoredom^ 
Captains, and admirals, and mighty men, 
Who lived deliciously ; and merchants, rich 
With merchandise of gold, and wine, and oil ; 
And those who traded in the souls of men. 
Known by their gaudy robes of priestly pomp ; — 
All these afar off stood, crying, Alas ! 
Alas ! and wept, and gnashed their teeth, and groanedi 
And with the owl that on her ruins sat, 
Vlade dolorous concert in t\e ear sf Night. 



293 



A.nd over her again the Heavens rejoiced. 
And Earth retiimed again the loud response. 

Thrice happy days I thrice blessed the man wlio .^a\v 
Their dawn ! The Church and State, that long hud 

held 
Unholy intercourse, were now divorced ; 
Princes were righteous men, judges upright; 
Anc* first, in general, now — for in the worst 
Of times there were some honest seers — the priest 
Sought other than the fleece among his flocks, 
Best paid when God was honored most ; and, like 
A cedar, naurished well, Jerusalem grew, 
And towered on high, and spread, and flourished fair : 
And underneath her boughs the nations lodged. 
All nations lodged, and sung the song of peace. 
From the four winds, the Jews, eased of the Curse 
Returned, and dwelt with God in Jacob's land, 
And drank of Sharon and of Carrael's vine. 
Satan was bound, though bound, not banished ciuite, 
But lurked about the timorous skirts of things, 
111 lodged, and thinking whiles to leave the earth, 
And Avith the wicked, — for some wicked were, — 
Held midnight meetings, as the saints were wont. 
Fearful of day, who once was as the sun, 
And worshiped more. The bad, but few, became 
A taunt and hissing now, as heretofore 
The good ; and, blushing, hasted out of sight. 
Disease was none ; the voice of war forgot ; 
The sword, a share ; a pruning-hook the spear. 
Men grew and multiplied upon the earth, 
And filled the city and the waste ; and Death 
Stood waiting for the lapse of tardy Age, 
That mocked him long. Men grew and multiplied, 
But lacked not bread ; for God Ms promise brought 
Xo mind, and blessed the land with plenteous laia, 
25* 



294 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

And made it jlessed for dews and precious things 

Of heaven, and blessings of the deep beneath, | 

And blessings of the sun and moon, and fruits I 

Of day and night, and blessings of the vale, | 

And precious things of the eternal hills. 

And all the fulness of perpetual spring. I 

The prison-house, where chained felons pined, 
Threw open his ponderous doors, let in the light 
Of heaven, and grew into a church, where God 
"Was worshipped. None were ignorant, selfish ncme ^ \ 
Love took the place of law ; where'er you met | 

A man, you met a friend, sincere and true. 
Kind looks foretold as kind a heart within ; j 

Words as they sounded, meant ; and promises , 

Were made to be performed. Thrice happy days ! ; 

Philosophy was sanctified, and saw 
Perfections that she thought a fable, long. 
Revenge his dagger dropped, and kissed the hand 
Of Mercy ; Anger cleared his cloudy brow, 
And sat with Peace ; Envy grew red, and smiled 
On Worth ; Pride stooped, and kissed Humility ; 
Lust washed his miry hands, and wedded, leaned , 

On chaste Desire ; and Falsehood laid aside ; 

His many-folded cloak, and bowed to Truth ; \ 

And Treachery up from his mining came, j 

And walked above the ground >\ith righteous Faith ' | 

And Covetousness xmclenched Ms sinewy hand, i 

And opened his door to Charity, the fair ; j 

Hatred was lost in Love ; and Vanity, ! 

With a good conscience pleased, her feathers cropped ; 
Sloth in the morning rose with Industry ; 
To Wisdom Folly turned ; and Fashion turned i 

Deception off, in act as good as word. ! 

The hand that held a whip was lifted up \ 

To bless ; slave was a word in ancient book* , ' ; 



295 



Met only ; every man was free ; and all 

Feared God, and served hiin day and night in lova 

HoAV fair the daughter of Jerusalem then ! 
How gloriously from Zion Hill she looked ! 
Clothed with the sun, and in her train the moon. 
And on her head a coronet of stars, 
And girdling round her waist, with heavenly gracft, 
The bow of Mercy bright ; and in her hand 
Immanuel's cross, her sceptre and her hope. 

Desire of every land ! the nations came, 
And worshipped at her feet ; all nations came. 
Flocking like doves : Columba's painted tribes. 
That from the Magellan to the Frozen Bay, 
Beneath the Arctic, dwelt ; and drank the tidea 
Of Amazona, prince of earthly streams ; 
Or slept at noon beneath the giant shade 
Of Andes* mount ; or, roving northward, heard 
Nigara sing, from Erie's billow down 
To Frontenac, and hunted thence the fur 
To Labrador : and Afric's dusky swarms, 
That from Morocco to Angola dwelt. 
And drank the Niger from his native welh^ 
Or roused the lion in Numidia's groves ; 
The tribes that sat among the fabled cliffg 
Of Atlas, looking to Atlanta's wave ; 
With joy and melody, arose and came. 
Zara awoke and came, and Egypt came, 
Casting her idol gods into the Nile. 
Black Ethiopia, that shadowless. 
Beneath the Torrid burned, arose and came. 
Dauma and Medra, and the pirate tribes 
Of Algcri, with incense came, and pxire 
Offerings, annoying now the seas no more. 
The silken tribes of Asia, flocking, came. 



296 THE COrjKSE OF TIME. 

Innumcroiis : Ishmacl's wandering race, that rodft 
On camels o'er the spicy tract that lay 
From Persia to the Red Sea coast ; the king 
Ot" broad Cathay, with numbers infinite, 
Of many lettered casts ; and all the tribes 
That dwelt from Tigris, to the Ganges' wave. 
And worshipped fire, or Brahma, fabled god; 
Cashmeres, Circassians, Banyans, tender race ! 
That swept the insect from their path, and liveu 
On herbs and fruits ; and those who peacefvil dwelt 
Along the shady avenue that stretched 
From Agra to Lahore ; and all the hosts 
That owned the Crescent late, deluded long ; 
The Tartar hordes, that roamed from Oby's bank, 
Uugoverned, southward to the wondrous Wall. 
The tribes of Europe came ; the Greek, I'edeemed 
From Turkish thrall, the Spaniard came, and Gaul, 
And Britain with her ships, and, on his sledge, 
The Laplander, that nightly watched the bear 
Circling the Pole ; and those who saw the flames 
Of Hecla bum the drifted snow ; the Russ, 
Long-wMskered, and equestrian Pole ; and those 
Who drank the Rhine, or lost the evening sun 
Behind the Alpine towers ; and she that sat 
By Arno, classic stream ; Venice ; or Rome, 
Head quarters long of sin ! first guileless now. 
And meaning as she seemed, stretched forth her handfl^ 
Aiid all the Isles of ocean rose and came, 
Whether they heard the roll of banished tides. 
Antipodes to Albion's wave, or watched 
The Moon ascending chalky TenerifFe, 
And -with Atlanta holding nightly love. 
T 10 Sim, the Moon, the Constellations, came : 
Thrice twelve and ten that watched the Antarcti« 

sleep. 
Twice six that near the Ecliptic dwelt, thrice twelro 



297 



Ajid one, that with the Streamers danced, and saw 

The H}'perborean Ice guarding the Pole. 

The East, the West, the South, and snoAvy Norths 

Rejoicing met, and worshipped reverently 

Before the Lord, in Zion's holy hill ; 

And all the places round about were blessed. 

The animals, as once in Eden, lived 
In peace. The wolf dwelt with the lamb, the beai 
And leopard with the ox. With looks of love, 
The tiger and the scaly crocodile 
Together met, at Gumbia's palmy wave. 
Perched on the eagle's %\'ing, the bird of song, 
Singing, arose, and visited the sun ; 
And with the falcon sat the gentle lark, 
rhe little child leapt from ivb mother's arms, 
And stroked the crested snake, and rolled imhurt 
Imo'ag Kj sj fckied waves, and wished him home; 
ind saiintering school-boys, slow returning, played 
At eve about the lion's den. and wove, 
Into his shaggy mane, fantasiiu iiowers. 
To meet the husbandman, early abroad, 
Hasted the deer, and waved its woody head, 
Ajid round his dewy steps, the hare, unscared, 
Sported ; and toyed familiar with his dog. 
The flocks and herds, o'er hill aiid valley spread, 
Exidting, cropped the ever-budding herb. 
The desert blossomed, and the barren sung. 
Justice and Mercy, Holiness and Love, 
Among the people walked, Messiah reigned, 
Ind Earth kept Jubilee a thousand years 



COCESE OF TIME. 



E»XE VT. 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK VI. 



At the opening of the Book, the Bard glances at the fii>af do 
etruction of the Earth, as if the astonishing change wen- ;ieiu 
ally again taking place under his eye. But, checking hniis.lf, 
he {woeeeds to describe the years which followed the i»iUe)»»u*! 
rest. 

Ungodliness again abounded. Ambition and love of ease, prin- 
ciples which had always struggled for the mastery of man, re- 
gained their ascendancy. Every form of sin, which had ex- 
isted before the reign of Messiah, was renewed, and new lomis 
were invented. The age was, however, enlightened and pol- 
ished, and the universal contempt of God wtu. wholly w.lful. 

In the meantime, strange phenomena and disasters gave pro- 
sage of Earth's approaching dissolution. Men di.«turhf(i, ii«>i 
reformed, inquired the meaning in alarm ; but soon forsjoi ihe 
whole, in their guilty pleasures; and Earth hasted to fill npihe 
ineasiue of her wickedness. 

Here the Bard pauses in his narrative, as the numerous «ktu- 
pants of heaven suspend their various employments, to jmu in 
an evening hymn of praise. All are represented as lurmng 
towards the unveiled Godhead, while the sainted Isaian lakes 
the harp, and, standmg before the throne, utters the holy song 
At its close, the thousands infinite, who " circling stand, bov» 
vag a&T," de voutly respond their assent. 



COURSE OF TIME, 

BOOK VI. 

Hesusie thy tone of wo, immortal Harp ! 
The song of mirth is past, the Jubilee 
Is ended, and the sun begins to fade ! 
Soon passed, for Happiness counts not the hoiirs 
To her a thousand years seem as a day ; 
A day, a thousand years to Misery. 
Satan is loose, and Violence is heard, 
Ajid Riot in the street, and Revelry 
Intoxicate, and Murder, and Revenge. 
Put on your armor now, ye righteous ! put 
The helmet of salvation on, and gird 
Your loins about with truth ; add righteousness. 
And add the shield of faith, and take the swori 
Of God — awake and watch ! — the day is near, 
Great day of God Almighty and the Lamb ! 
The harvest of the earth is fully ripe ; 
Vengeance begins to tread the great Avine-press 
Of fierceness and of MTath ; and Mercy pleads, 
Mercy that pleaded long, she pleads — no more ! 
Whence comes that darkness ? whence those yells 

wo? 
vVTial thmiderings are these that shake the world ? 
>Yhy fall the lamps from heaven as blasted figs } 
ATiy tremble righteous men ? why angels pale r 
vVhy is all fear ? what has become of hope ? 
26 



802 THE CX)UESE OF TIME. 

God comes ! — God, w. his car of vengeance^ 

comes ! — 
Hark ! louder on the blast, come hollow shrieks 
Of dissolution ! in the fitful scowl 
Of night, near and more near, angels of death 
Incessant fiap their deadly v.ings, and roar 
Through all the fevered air 1 the mountains rock. 
The moon is sick, and all the stars of heaven { 

Bum feebly ! oft and sudden gleams the fire, ! 

Revealing awfuUy the brow of Wrath ! j 

The Thunder, long and loud, utters his voice, 
Responsive to the Ocean's troubled growl ! j 

Xight comes, last night, the long, dark, dark, dariL 

night. 
That has no mom beyonfl ' ^- and no star ! 
No eye of man hath seen a night like this ! 
Heaven's trampled Justice ^irds itself for fight ! 
Earth, to thy knees, and cry for mercy ! cr/ ( 

With earnest heart, for thou art growing old 1 

And hoary, unrepented, tinforgiven ! 
And aU thy glory mourns 1 The vintage mourns ! 
Bashan and Carmel, mourn and weep ; and mooin. i 

Thou Lebanon ! with all thy cedars, mourn. i 

Sun! glorying in thy strength from age to age, jj 

So long observant of thy hour, put on 
Thy weeds of wo, and tell the Moon to weep ; 
Utter thy grief at mid-day, mom, and even ; 
TeL aU the nations, teU the Clouds that sit 
About the portals of the east and west, 
And wanton -with thy golden locks, to wait 
Thee not to-morrow, for no morrow comes ! 
Tell men and women, teU the new- bom child. 
And every eye that sees, to come, and see 
Thee set behind Eternity, for thou 
Bhalt go to bed to-night, and ne'er awake t 
etors ! walking on the paveraent of the sky, 



SOI 



Out-sentinels of heaven, watching the earth, 
Cease dancing now ; your lamps are growing dim. 
Your graves are dug among the dismal clouds. 
And angels are assembling round your bier ! 
Orion, mourn ! and Mazzaroth, and thou^ 
Arcturus ! moxim, with all thy northern sons. 
Daughters of Pleiades ! that nightly shed 
Sweet influence, and thou, fEiirest of stars ! 
Eye of the morning, weep ! and weep at eve ! 
Weep setting, now to rise no more, " and flame 
On forehead of the dawn," — as sung the bard. 
Great bard ! who xised on earth a seraph's ^yre, 
Wliose numbers wandered through eternity. 
And gave sweet foretaste of the heavenly harps ! 
Minstrel of sorrow ! native of the dark, 
Shrub-loving Philomel, th.at wooed the Dews, 
At midnight from their starry beds, and, charmed. 
Held them around thy song till dawn awoke, 
Sad bird ! pour through the gloom thy weeping sor.^. 
Pour all thy dying melody of grief. 
And with, tlie turtle spread the wave of wo ! 
Spare not thy reed, for thou shalt sing no more ! 



Ye holy bards ! — if yet a holy bard 
Remain— what chord shall serve you now ! what harp ! 
WTiat harp shall sing the djing Sun asleep, 
And mourn behind the funeral of the Moon ! 
WTiat harp of boundless, deep, exhaustless wo, 
Shall utter forth the groanings of the damned ! Ij 

And sing the obseqiiies of wicked souls ! 
And wail their plimge in the eternal fire ! — 
Hold, hold your hands ! hold, angels ! — God lament^ 
And draws a cloud of mourning roxmd his throne ! 
The Organ of Eternity is mute ! 
And there is silence in the Heaven of Heavens ! 



S04 THE COURSE OF TIME 

Daughters of beauty ! choice of beings made ! 
Much praised, much blamed, much loved ; but fairei 

far 
Tlian aught beheld, than aught imagined else 
Fairest, and dearer than all else most dear ; 
Light of the darksome -svilderness ! to Time 
As stars to night, whose eyes were spells that held 
The passenger forgetful of his way, 
Whose steps were majesty, whose words were song, 
Whose smiles were hope, whose actions, perfect gracf 
Whose love, the solace, glory, and delight 
Of man, his boast, his riches, his renown ; 
When foimd, sufficient bliss ! when lost, despair ! — 
Stars of creation ! images of love ! 
Break up the fountains of your tears, your tears 
More eloquent than learned tongue, or lyre 
Of piirest note ! your sunny raiment stain. 
Put dust upon your heads, lament and weep, 
And utter all your minstrelsy of wo ! 

Go to, ye wicked, weep and howl ; for all 
That God hath written against you is at hand. 
The cry of Violence hath reached his ear, 
Hell is prepared, and Justice whets his sword. 
Weep all of every name ! Begin the avo, 
Ye woods, and tell it to the doleful winds ; 
And doleful winds, wail to the howling hills ; 
And howling hills, mourn to the dismal vales ; 
And dismal vales, sigh to the sorrowing brooks ; 
And sorrowing brooks, weep to the weeping stream 
And weeping stream, awake the groanbig deep ; 
And let the instrument take up the song. 
Responsive to the voice, harmonious wo ! 
Ye Heavens, great arch- way of the universe. 
Put sackcloth on ; and Ocean, clothe thyself 
In garb of widowhood, and gather all 



BOOK VI. 30A i 

■I 

rhy waves into a groan, and utter it, ■, 

Long, loud, deep, piercing, dolorous, immense: i 

The occasion asks it ! — Nature dies, and God 
And angels come to lay her in the grave ! 

But we have overleaped our theme ; behind, 
A little season waits a verse or tAvo, 
The years that followed the millennial rest. 
Bad years they were ; and first, as signal sure, 
That at the core religion was diseased, 
The sons of Levi strove again for place, 
And eminence, and names of swelling pomp ; 
Setting their feet upon the people's neck, Ij 

And slumbering in the lap of civil power, |j 

Of civil power again tyrannical : jj 

And second sign, sure sign, whenever seen, ^| 

That holiness was dying in a land, ij 

The Sabbath was profaned and set at naught ; 
The honest seer, who spoke the truth of God 
Plainly, was left with empty walls ; and roimd 
The frothy orator, who busked Ms tales 
Ll quackish pomp of noisy word, the ear 
Tickling, but leaving still the heart unprobed. 
The judgment uninibrmed, — numbers immense 
Flocked, gaping wide, with passions high inflamed ( 
And on the way returning, heated, home. 
Of eloquence, and not of ti-uth, conversed — 
Mean eloquence that wanted sacred truth. 

Two principles from the beginning strove 
Ll human nature, still dividing man, — 
Sloth and activity ; the lust of praise. 
And indolence that rather wished to sleep. 
And not unfrequently in the same mind 
They dubious contest held ; one gaining now, 
And now the other croANT.ed, iuid both again 

26* , 

i 



106 THE COUaSL OF TIME 

Keeping the field, with equa. combat fought. 
Much different was their voice. Ambition called 
To action, sloth invited to repose. 
Ambition early rose, and, being up, 
Toiled ardently, and late retired to rest ; 
Sloth lay till mid-dav, turning on his couch. 
Like ponderous door upon its weary hinge, 
And, having rolled him out \vith much ado, 
And many a dismal sigh, and vam attempt, 
He sauntered out, accoutred carelessly, — 
With half-oped, misty, ujiobscrvant eye, 
Somniferous, that weighed the object down 
On which its burden fell, — an hour or two. 
Then with a groan retired 1 1 rest again. 
The one, whatever deed had been achieved. 
Thought it too little, and too small the praise ; 
The other tried to think — iov tliinking so 
Answered his purpose best — that what of great 
Mankind could do had been already done ; 
And therefore laid him calmly down to sleep. 

Different in mode, destructive both alike. 
Destructive always indolence ; and love 
Of fame destructive always too, if less 
Than praise of God it sought, content with less . 
Even then not current, if it sought his praise 
From other motive than resistless love ; 
Though base, main-spring of action in the world » 
And, under name of vanity and pride, 
Was greatly practised on by cunning men. 
It opened the niggard's purse, clothed nakedness, 
Gave beggars food, and threw the Pharisee 
Upon his knees, and kept him long in act 
Of prayer ; it spread the lace upon the fop. 
His language trimmed, and planned his curious gait ; 
U stuck the feather on the gay coquet! e. 



J 



BOOK VI. 307 

And on her fin.2;er laid the heavy load 

Of jewelry; it did — what did it not ? 

riic gospel preached, the gospel paid, and sent 

Tlie gospel ; conquered nations, cities built, 

Measured the furrow of the field Avith nice 

Dii-e(!ted share, shaped bulls, and cows, and rams, 

And threw the ponderous stone ; and, pitiful. 

Indeed, and much against the grain, it dragged 

The stagnant, dull, predestinated fool 

Through learning's halls, and made him labor much 

Abortively ; though sometimes not uiipraised 

He left the sage's chair, and home returned, 

Making his simple mother thiiik that she 

Had borne a man. In schools designed to root 

Sin up, and plant the seeds of holiness 

In youthful minds, it held a signal place. 

The little infant man, by nature proud, 

Was taught the Scriptures by the love of praise, 

And grew religious as he grew in fame. 

And thus the principle, which out of heaven 

The de\'il threw, and threw him do^^^l to heU, 

And keeps him there, was made an instrument 

To moralize and sanctify mankind. 

And in their hearts beget humility ; 

With what success it needs not now to say. 

Destructive both we said, acti^dty 
And sloth ; behold the last exemplified, 
In literary man. Not all at once. 
He yielded to the soothing voice of sleep ; 
But, havuig seen a bough of laurel wave, 
He effort made to climb ; and friends, and even 
Himself, talked of his greatness, as at hand, 
And, prophesying, drew his future life. 
Vain prophecy ! his fancy, taught by slotlx, 
Baw, in the very threshold of pursuit, 



308 THE C0UR.1K OP TIME. 

A thousand obstacles ; he halted first, 

And while he halted, saw his burning hopes 

Grow dim and dimmer still ; ambition's sel^ 

The advocate of loudest tongue, decayed ; 

His purposes, made daily, daily broken, 

Like plant uprooted oft, and set again, I 

More sickly grew, and daily wavered more ; I 

Till at the last, decision, quite worn out, j 

Decision, ftdcrum of the mental powers, i 

"Resigned the blasted soul to staggering chance ; jl 

Sleep gathered fast, and weighed him downward Btiilj jj 

His eye fell heavy from the mount of fame ; ! 

His young resolves to benefit the world j 

Perished and were forgotten ; he shut his ear 

Against the painful news of rising worth ; I 

And drank with desperate thirst the poppy's juice ; '] 

A deep and mortal slumber settled down 

Upon his weary faculties oppressed ; 

He rolled from side to side, and rolled again ; 

And snored, and groaned, and withered and expired, 

And rotted on the spot, leaving no name. 

The hero best example gives of toil ^ 

Unsanctified. One word his history writes, : 

"He was a murderer above the laws, 

And greatly praised for doing murderous deeds." '; 

And now he grew, and reached his perfect growth; | 

And also now the sluggard soundest slept, 
And by him lay the uninterred corpse. | 

Of every order, sin and wickedness, 
Deliberate, cool, mahcious villany, 
This age, attained maturity, unknowTi 
Before ; and seemed in travail to bring forth 
Some last, enormous, monstrous deed of guilt» 
Original, unprecedented guilt. 



80» 



Ihat might obliterate the memory 

Of what had hitherto been done most vile 

Inventive men were paid, at public cost, 

To plan new modes of sin ; the holy Word 

Of God was burned, ^^'ith acclamations loud ; 

New tortures were invented for the good ; — 

For still some good remained, as whiles through sky 

Of tliickest clouds, a wandering star appeared ; — 

New oaths of blasphemy were framed and sworn; 

And men in reputation grew, as grew 

Die stature of their crimes. Faith was not found. 

Truth was not foimd, truth always scarce, so scarce 

That half the misery which groaned ou earth, 

Ln ordinary times, was progeny 

Of disappointment, daily coming forth 

IVom broken promises, that might have ne'er 

Bi en made, or, being made, might have been Irept ; 

Justice and mercy, too, were rare, obscured 

In cottage garb : before the jialace door, 

The beggar rotted, starving in his rags ; 

And on the threshold of luxurious domes, 

The orphan child laid doA\'n his head, and died ; 

Nor unamusing was his piteous cry 

To women, who had now laid tenderness 

Aside, best pleased with sights of cruelty ; 

Flocking, when fouler lusts would give them time 

To horrid spectacles of blood, where men, 

Or guiltless beasts, that seemed to look to heaven. 

With eye imploring vengeance on the earth, 

Were tortured for the merriment of kings. 

The advocate for him who offered most 

Pleaded ; the scribe, according to the hire, 

Worded the lie, adding, for every piece. 

An oath of confirmation ; judges raised 

One hand to mtimate the sentence, death. 

Imprisonment, or fine, or loss of goods. 



SIO THE COVRSR OF TIMK. 

A.nd in tne other held a histy bribe, 

NMxich tliey had tiiken to give the sentence >vTong, 

So maiiaging the scale ot justice still. 

That he was wanting foui\d who poorest seemed. 

B\it laymen most reno\\-ned for devilish deeds, 
Labored at dist^mce still beliiud the priest ; 
He shore his sheep, and, ha\-ing packed the wool. 
Sent them ungnariled to the hill of wolves : 
And to the bowl deliberately sat do^^^l, 
And \\-ith his mistress mocked at sacred tilings. 

The theatre was, from the very lirst. 
The favorite haunt of Sin. tliough honest men. 
Some very honest, wise, imd worthy men, 
M;\ii\tained it might be ttiraed to good account, 
And so perhaps it uught, but never was. 
Fi-om tirst to last, it was im evil place : 
And now such things were acted there, as made 
The de\-ils blush ; and from the neighborhood. 
Angels and holy men. trembling, retired : 
And what NN-ith dreadl'ul aggravation cro\\-ned 
Tlus dreary time, was sin iigiiinst the Ught. 
All men knew God, and, knowing, disobeyeil; 
And gloried to insult him to his face. 

Another feature only we shall mark- 
It was withal a higlily polished age. 
And scrupulous in ceremonious rite. 
Wlien stranger stranger met ui)on the way. 
First, each to each bowed most respectfully, 
And large profession made of humble service, 
\nd then the stronger took the other s piu-se. 
And he that stabbed his neighbor to the heart, 
Stabbed him politely, and returned the blade 
Reeking into its sheath >\'ith graceful air. 



til 



Meantime the earth ^nvc sjTnptoms of l;cr end, 
A.M(1 all the scenery uliove proclaimed, 
I'hat the great last catastrophe was near. 
The Sun at rising staj^grred and fell back, 
As one too early up, aft or a night 
Of late debauch ; then rose, and shone again, 
Briglitcr than wont ; and sickened again, and paiised 
In zenith altitude, as one fatigued ; 
Ajid shed a feeble twilight ray at noon. 
Rousing the wolf before his time to chase 
The shepherd and his sheep, that sought for light, 
And darkness found, a'^tonished, territied ; 
Then, out of course, rolled furious down the west, 
As chariot reined by awkward charioteer ; 
And, waiting at the gato, he on the earth 
Gazed, as he thought he ne'er might see't again. 
The bow of mercy, heretofore so fair, 
Ribbed with the native hues of heavenly love, 
Disastrous colors showed, unseen till now ; 
Changing upon the watery gulf; from pale 
To fiery red, and back airnn to pale ; 
And o'er it hovered win^.> of wrath. ITie Moon 
Swaggered in midst of heaven, grew black, and daiU, 
Unclouded, uneclipscd. The Stars fell down, 
Tumbling from off their towers like drunken men, 
Or seemed to fall ; and ^^limmered now, and now 
Sprang out in sudden bl;i/,e and dimmed again. 
As lamp of foolish virgin lacking oil. 
ITie heavens, this moment, looked serene ; the next. 
Glowed like an oven with God's displeasure hot. 

Nor less, below, was ii\timation given. 
Of some disaster great and ultimate. 
The tree that bloomed, or hung with clustering £rui( 
Untouched by visible calamity 
Of frost or tempest, lied and came again. 



d12 the course op time. 

The flower and herb fell down as sick ; then rose 
And fell a<>ain. The fowls of every hue, 
C'roAvding together, sailed on weary \^ing ; 
And, hovering, oft they seemed about to light ; 
Then soared, as if they thought the earth unsafe. 
The cattle looked with meaning face on man. 
Dogs howled, and seemed to see more than their mas* 

ters. 
And there were sights that none had seen before ; 
And hollow, strange, unprecedented sounds, 
And earnest whisperings ran along the hills 
At dead of night ; and long, deep, endless sighs, 
Came from the di-eary vale ; and from the waste 
Came horrid shrieks, and tierce unearthly groans, 
The wail of evil spirits, that now felt 
The hour of utter vengeance near at hand. 
The winds from every quarter blew at once. 
With desperate violence, and, whii'ling, took 
The traveller up, and threw him dov^'n again, 
At distance from his path, confounded, pale ; 
And shapes, strange shapes ! in winding sheets were 

seen. 
Gliding through night, and singing funeral songs. 
And imitating sad, sepulchral rites; * 

And voices talked among the clouds, and still 
The words that men could catch were spoken of them, 
And seemed to be the words of wonder great, 
And expectation of some vast event 
Earth shook, and swam, and reeled, and opened hei 

jaws, 
By earthquake tossed, and tumbled to and fro ; 
And, louder than the car of man had heard, 
The Thunder bellowed, and the Ocean groaned. 

The race of men, perplexed, but not reformed. 
Flocking together, stood in earnest crowds, 



31» 



Conversing of the awful state of things. 
Some curious explanations gave, unlearned ; 
Some tried affectedly to laugh, and some 
Gazed stupidly ; but all were sad and pale. 
And wished the comment of the wise. Nor les« 
These prodigies, occurring night and day, 
Perplexed philosophy. The magi tried. 
Magi, a name not seldom given to fools, 
In the vocabulary of earthly speech, — 
They tried to trace them still to second cause, 
But scarcely satisfied themselves ; though round 
Their deep deliberations, crowding came. 
And, wondering at their wisdom, went away. 
Much quieted and very much deceived, 
The people, always glad to be deceived. 

These warnings passed, they, unregarded, passed. 
And all in wonted order calmly moved. 
The pulse of Nature regularly beat, 
And on her cheek the bloom of perfect health 
Again appeared. Deceitful piilse ! and bloom 
Deceitful ! and deceitful calm ! The Earth 
Was old, and worn within ; but, Uke the man 
"Who noticed not his mid-day strength decline. 
Sliding so gently round the curvature 
Of life, from youth to age, — she knew it not. 
The calm was Like the calm, which oft the man, 
Djing, experienced before his death ; 
The bloom was but a hectic flush, before 
The eternal paleness. But all these were taken. 
By this last race of men, for tokens of good; 
And blustering public News aloud proclaimed — 
News always gabhUng ere they well had thought- 
Prosperity, and joy, and peace ; and mocked 
The man who, kneeling, prayed, and trembled still ; 
And all in earnest to their sins returned. 
27 



S14 THE COOTiSE OP TIME. 

It was not so in heaven. The elders round 
The Throne conversed about the state of man, 
jj Conjecturing — for none of certain knew — 

I That Time was at an end. They gazed intense 

Upon the Dial's face, which yonder stands 
In gold, before the S\m of Righteousness, 
Jehovah, and computes time, seasons, years, 
And destinies, and slowly munbers o'er 
I'he mighty cycles of eternity ; 
By God alone completely understood, 
But read by all, revealing much to all. 
And now, to saints of eldest skill, the ray, 
Which on the gnomon fell of Time, seemed sent 
From level west, and hasting quickly down. 
The holy Virtues, watching, saw, besides. 
Great preparation going on in heaven, 
Betokening great event, greater than aught 
That first-created seraphim had seen. 
The faithi"ul messengers, who have for wing 
The lightning, waiting, day and night, on God, 
Before his face, beyond their usual speed. 
On pinion of celestial light were seen, 
Coming and going, and their road was still 
From heaven to earth, and back again to heaven ; 
Tlie angel of Mercy, bent before the Throne, 
By earnest pleading, seemed to hold the hand 
Of Vengeance back, and win a moment more 
Of late repentance for some sinful world 
In jeopardy : and now, the hill of God, 
The mountain of his majesty, rolled flames 
Of fire, now smiled with momentary love, 
And now again with fiery fierceness burned ; 
And from behind the darkness of his Throne, 
Through which created ^dsion never saw. 
The living Thunders, in their native caves. 
Muttered the terrors of Omnipoteace, 



BOOK VI, 316 

Ajid ready seemed, impatient to fulfil 
Some errai.d of exterminating wrath. 

Meanwhile the Earth increased in wickedness, 
And hasted daily to fill up her cup. 
Satan raged loose, Sin had her will, and Death 
Enough. Blood trode upon the heels of Blood, 
Revenge, in desperate mood, at midnight met 
Revenge, War brayed to War, Deceit deceived 
Deceit, Lie cheated Lie, and Treachery 
Mined under Treachery, and Perjurj 
Swore back on Peijury, and Blasphemy 
Arose with hideous Blasphemy, and Curse 
Loud answered Cvirse; and drunkard, stumbling, foil 
O'er drunkard fallen ; and husband husband met, 
Returning each from other's bed defiled ; 
Thief stole from thief, and robber on the way 
Knocked robber down, and Lewdness, Violence, 
And Hate, met Lewdness, Violence, and Hate. 
Oh, Earth ! thy hour was come ! the last elect 
Was bom, complete the number of the good. 
And the last sand fell from the glass of Timew 
The cup of guilt was full up to the brim ; 
And Mercy, weary with beseeching, had 
Retired behind the sword of Justice, red 
With ultimate and unrepenting wrath ; 
But man knew not : he o'er his bowl laughed loud, 
And, prophesying, said, ' To-morrow shall 
As this day be, and more abundant still ! " 
As thou shalt hear — But, hark ! the trumpet sotmd^ 
And calls to evening song ; for, though with hymn 
Eternal, course succeeding course extol 
In presence of the incarnate, holy God, 
And celebrate his never-ending praise, — 
Duly at mom and night, the miiltitudes 
Ot men redeemed, and angels, all the hosts 



316 THE COURSE OF TIMB. 

Of glory, join in universal song, 

And povir celestial harmony, from harps 

Above all number, eloquent and sweet. 

Above all thought of melody conceived. 

And now behold the fair inhabitants, 

Delightful sight ! from numerous business turn, 

And round and round through all the extent of blisi 

Towards the temple of Jehovah bow. 

And worship reverently before his face ! 

Pursuits are various here, suiting all tastes, 
Though holy all, and glorifying God. 
Observe yon band pursue the sylvan stream : 
Moimting among the cliffs, they pull the flower, 
Springing as soon as pulled, and, marvelling, pry 
Into its veins, and circulating blood, 
And wondrous mimicry of higher life ; 
Admire its colors, fragrance, gentle shape ; 
And thence admire the God who made it so — 
So simple, complex, and so beautiful. 

Behold yon other band, in airy robes 
Of bliss. They weave the sacred bower of rose 
And myrtle shade, and shadowy verdant bay, j 

And laurel, towering high ; and round their song, 
The pink and lily bring, and amaranth, 
Narcissus sweet, and jassamine ; and bring 
The cliistering vine, stooping with flower and fruit 
The peach and orange, and the sparkling stream, 
"Warbling with nectar to their Kps unasked ; 
And talk the while of everlasting love. 

On yonder hill, behold another band, 
Of piercing, steady, intellectual eye. 
And spacious forehead of sublimest thought, 
rhey reason deep of present, future, past ; 



BOOK VI. 317 

And tract effect to cause ; and meditate 
On the eternal laws of God, which bind 
Circumference to centre ; and survey, 
"With optic tubes, that fetch remotest stars 
Near them, the systems circling rovmd immense 
Innumerous. See how, — as he, the sage, 
Among the most renowned in days of Time, 
Reno^^^^ed for large, capacious holy soul, 
Demonstrates clearly motion, gra\'ity, 
Attraction and repulsion, still opposed ; 
And dips into the deep, original, 
UnknowTi, mysterious elements of things, — 
See how the face of every auditor 
Expands with admiration of the skill. 
Omnipotence, and boundless love of God ! 

These other, sitting near the tree of life. 
In robes of linen flowing white and clean, 
Of holiest aspect, of divinest soul, 
Angels and men, — into the glory look 
Of the Redeeming Love, and turn the leaves 
Of man's redemption o'er, the secret leaves, 
Which none on earth Avere found worthy to open 
And, as they read the mysteries divine, 
The endless mysteries of salvation, Avrought 
By God's incarnate Son, they humbler bow 
Before the Lamb, and glow with warmer love. 

These other, there relaxed beneath the shade 
Of yon embowering palms, with friendship smile, 
And talk of ancient days, and young pursuits, 
Of dangers passed, of godly triumphs won 
And sing the legends of their native land, 
Less pleasing far than this their Father's house. 

Behold that other band, half lifted up 
Between the hill and dale, reclined ben eath 

27* 



118 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

The shadow of impending rocks, 'mong streams^ 
And thundering waterfalls, and waving boughs ; 
That band of countenance sublime and sweet, 
Whose eye, with piercing, intellectual ray. 
Now beams severe, or now bewildered seems. 
Left rolling wild, or fixed in idle gaze, 
While Fancy and the Soul are far from home ; 
These hold the pencil, art divine ! and throw 
Before the eye remembered scenes of love; 
Each picturing to each the hills, and skies, 
And treasured stories of the world he left ; 
Or, gazing on the scenery of heaven, 
They dip their hand in color's native well. 
And, on the everlasting canvass, dash 
Figures of glory, imagery divine, 
With grace and grandeur in perfection knit. 

But, whatso'er the spirits blessed pursue, 
Where'er they go, whatever sights they see 
Of glory and bliss through all the tracts of heaven,- 
The centre, still, the figure eminent, 
Whither they ever turn, on whom all eyes 
Repose with infinite delight, is God 
And his incarnate Son, the Lamb once slain 
On Calvary, to ransom riiined men. 

None idle here. Look where thou wilt, they all 
Are active, all engaged in meet pursuit ; 
Not happy else. Hence is it that the song 
Of heaven is ever new ; for daily thus, 
And nightly new discoveries are made 
Of God's unbounded wisdom, power, and love, 
Which give the imderstanding larger room, 
And swell the hymn with ever-growing praise. 

Behold they cease ! and every face to God 
turns ; and we pause from high poe/ic theme. 



HOOK. VI. 319 j] 

Not worthy least of being sung iij heaven , i 

And on unveiled Godhead look from this, ; 

Our oft frequented hill. He takes the harp, '.• 

Nor needs to seek befitting phrase : iuisought» i 

Numbers hannonious roll along the IjTe ; ij 

As river in its native bed, they flow ji 

Spontaneous, flowing wT.th the tide of thought. i 

He takes the harp — a bard of Judah leads, j! 

This night, the boimdless song, the bard that once, ji 

When Israel's king was sad and sick to death, jj 

A message brought of fifteen added years. j! 

Before the Throne he stands sublime, in robes j 

Of glory ; and now his fingers wake the chorda 1 

To praise, which we and all in heaven repeat. i 



Harps of Eternity ! begin the song, 
Redeemed and angel harps ! begin to God, 
Begin the anthem ever sweet and new. 
While I extol Him, holy, just, and good. 
Life, beauty, hght, intelligence, and love 
Eternal, uncreated, infinite ! 
Unsearchable Jehovah ! God of truth 1 
Maker, upholder, governor of all ! 
Thyself unmade, ungoverned, unupheld ! 
Omnipotent, unchangeable. Great God ! 
Exhaustlcss fulness ! giving unimpaired ! 
Bounding immensity, unspread, unbound ! 
Highest and best ! beginning, middle, end ! 
All-seeing Eye ! all-seeing, and unseen ! 
Hearing, tuiheard ! all-knowing, and unknown ! 
Above all praise ! above all height of thought ! 
Proprietor of immortaUty ! 
Glory ineff"able ! bUss underived I 
Of old thou buildst thy throne on righteousnea^ 
Before the morning Stars their song began. 



820 THE COUllSE OP TIME. 

Ur si! dice heai\l the voice of praise. Thou laidst 

Eternity's foundation stone, and sawst 

liiie and existence out of Thee begin. 

M3^sterious more, the more displayed, where still 

Ill^n thy glorious Throne thou sitst alone. 

Hast sat alone, and shalt for ever sit 

Alone, Invisible, Immortal One ! 

Behind essential brightness unbeheld. 

Incomprehensiljle ! what weight shall weigh, 

What measure measure Thee ! What know we more 

Of Thee, what need to know, than Thou hast taught, 

And bidst us still repeat, at morn and even ? — 

God ! Everlasting Father ! Holy One ! 

Our God, our Father, oiu: Eternal AU ! 

Source whence we came, and whither we return ; 

WTio made our spirits, who our bodies made. 

Who made the heaven, who made the flowery land, 

Who made all made, who orders, governs all, 

Who walks upon the wind, who holds the wave 

In hollow of thy hand, whom thmaders wait, 

Whom tempests serve, whom flaming fires obev. 

Who guides the circuit of the endless years, 

And sitst on high, and makest creation's top 

Thy footstool, and beholdst, below Thee, all — 

All naught, all less than naught, and vanity. 

Like transient dust that hovers on the scale, 

Ten thousand worlds are scattered in thy breath. 

Thou sitst on high, and measurest destinies, 

And days, and months, and wide- revolving years. 

And dost according to thy holy will ; 

And none can stay thy hand, and none withhold 

Thy glory ; for in judgment. Thou, as well 

As mercy, art exalted, day and night. 

Past, present, future, magnify thy name. 

Thy works all praise Thee, all thy angels praise^ 

Thy saints adore, and on thv altars burn 



321 



The fragrant incense of perpetual love. 

They praise Thee now, their hearts, their voice« 

praise, 
And swell the rapture of the glorious song. 
HarjD ! lift thy voice on high ! shout, angels, shout l 
And loudest, ye redeemed ! glory to God, 
And to the Lamb who bought us with his blood, 
From every kindred, nation, people, tongue ; 
And washed, and sanctified, and saved our souls ; 
And gave us robes of linen pure, and crowns 
Of life, and made us kings and priests to God. 
Shout back to ancient Time ! Sing loud, and wave 
Your palms of triumph ! sing, Where is thy sting, 
O Death ! where is thy victory, O Grave ! 
Thanks be to God, eternal tnanics, wno guve 
Us victory through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. 
Harp ! lift thy voice on high ! shout, angels, shout I 
And loudest, ye redeemed ! glory to God, 
And to the Lamb, all glory and all praise. 
All glory and all praise, at mom and even, 
That come and go eternally, and find 
Us happy stiU, and Thee for ever blessed ! 
Glory to God and to the Lamb. Amen. 
For ever, and for evermore. Amen. 

And those who stood upon the sea of glass, 
And those who stood upon the battlements 
And lofty towers of New Jerusalem, 
And those who circling stood, bowing afar, 
Exalted on the everlasting hills. 
Thousands of thousands, thousands infinite, 
With voice of boimdless love, answered. Amen. 
And through Eternity, near and remote, 
The worlds, adoring, echoed back, Amen ; 
And God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; 
The On"i Eternal, smiled superior bliss ! 



522 THE COUBSE OF TIME. 

And every eye, and every face in heaven, 
Reflecting and reflected, beamed with love. 

Nor did he not, the Virtue new arrived. 
From Godhead gain an individual smile, 
Of high acceptance, and of welcome high, 
And confirmation evermore in good. 
Meantime the landscape glowed with holy joy. 
Zephyr, with wing dipped from the well of life. 
Sporting through Paradise, shed living dews ; 
The flowers, the spicy shrubs, the la\\Tis, refreshe-i, 
Breathed their selectest babn, breathed odors, such 
As angels love ; and all the trees of heaven. 
The cedar, pine, and everlasting oak, 
Bejoiciiu; on the mountains, clapped their havda. 



COUESE OF TIME. 

BOOK vn. 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK YU, 



After ibe Hvmo of praise, the Bard resumes his siory. He re- 
lates the destruction of the Earth, the Resorrectiou ot the dead, 
aud the Transformation of the living. 

Dn the morn of the final da , ^..^ij appearance of Nature was 
as usual ; but at n^id-day tmiversaJ darkness prevailea. aiic) 
eve>->-a/'Jion and nxrtion ceased ; an Angel from Heaven jjfm 
clai\; dd -i« e .d < f Time,and another blew the Trump of God 
at which the dead awoke and the living were chajiged 

The remainder of the Book is occupied wTih a descript.ou o; 
circumstances connected with the momentous scene ; ihe liv- 
ing surprised in the midst o< their thousand various occujxiii.nia 
of study, labor, pleasure, crime ; the dead of every age :\!vd 
nation springing to life, in the wilderness, the cultivated hfki. 
amid ancient ruins, in the sUeels of populous e' ^s, noai ii« 
depihfl of the mighty wikteiSb 



COURSE OF TIME. 

BOOK VII. 

As one who meditates at evening tide, 
Wandering alone by voiceless solitudes, 
And flies, in fancy, far beyond the bounds 
Of visible and vulgar things, and things 
Discovered hitherto, pursuing tracts 
As yet untravelled and unkno-mi, through vast 
Of new and sweet imaginir^gs ; if chance 
Some airy harp, waked by the gentle sprites 
Of twilight, or Kght touch of sylvan maid, 
In soft succession fall upon his ear, 
And fill the desert with its heavenly tones ; 
He listens intense, and pleased exceedingly, 
And -s^-ishes it may never stop ; yet when 
It stops, grieves not ; but to bis former thoughts 
With fondest haste returns : so did the Seer, 
So did his audience, after worship passed. 
And praise in heaven, return to sing, to hear 
Of man, not worthy less the sacred lyre. 
Or the attentive ear ; and thus the bard. 
Not unbesought, again resumed his song. 

In customed glory bright, that mom, the Sun 
Rose, visiting the earth ^-ith light and heat, 
And joy; and seemed as full of youth and strong 
To mount the steep of heaven, as when the Stars 



326 THE COTELSZ OF TD€E. 

Of morning sung to his first dawn, and night 
Fled from his face ; the spacious sky received 
Him, blushing as a bride, when on her looked 
The bridegroom ; and, sp: ead out beneath his eye, 
Earth smiled. Up to his H-arm embrace, the Dews, 
That aU night long had "5\epr his absence, flew ; 
The herbs and flowers their fragrant stores unlockedi 
And gare the wanton breeze, that, newly woke. 
Revelled in sweets, and from its wings shook health, 
A thousand grateful smelL- ; the joyous woods 
Dried in his beams their locks, wet with the drops 
Of night ; and all the son? ol music sung 
Their matin song — from arbored bower, the thrush. 
Concerting with the lark that hymned on high. 
On the green hill the flocks, and in the vale 
The herds, rejoiced ; and, light of heart, the hind 
Eyed amorously the milk-maid as she passed, 
Not heedless, though she looked another way. 

No sign was there of change. All nature moved 

In wonted harmony. Men., as they met, 
In morning salutation, praised the day, 
And talked of common things. The husbandman 
Prepared the soil, and sHver-tongued Hope 
Promised another harvest In the streets. 
Each wishing to make profit of his neighbor. 
Merchants, assembling, spoke of trying times, 
Of bankruptcies, and markets glutted full. 
Or, crowding to the beach, — where, to their ear. 
The oath of foreign accent, and the noise 
ITncouth of trade's rough sons, made music sweet, 
Elate with certain gain, — beheld the bark. 
Expected long, enriched with other climea, 
Into the harbor safely steer ; or saw, 
Parting with many a weeping farewell sad. 
And blessing uttered rude, and sacred pledge, 



BOOK vn. 327 

The rich-laden carack, bound to distant shore, 

And hopefully talked of her coming back, 

With richer freight ; or sitting at the desk, 

In calculation deep and intricate 

Of loss and profit balancing, relieved. 

At intervals, the irksome task, with thought 

Of future ease, retired in villa snug. 

"With subtle look, amid his parchments, sat 
The law^'er, weaving his sophistries for court 
To meet at mid- day. On his weary couch. 
Fat Luxury, sick of the night's debauch. 
Lay groaning, fretful at the obtnisive beam. 
That through his lattice peeped derisively. 
The restless miser bad begun again 
To coimt his heaps. Before her toilet stood 
The fair, and, as with guileful skill she decked 
Her loveliness, thought of the coming ball. 
New lovers, or the sweeter nuptial night 
And evil men, of desperate, lawless life. 
By oath of deep damnation leagued to ill. 
Remorselessly, fled from the face of day, 
Against the innocent their coxinsel held. 
Plotting unpardonable deeds of blood. 
And villanies of fearful magnitude. 
Despots, secured behind a thousand bolts, 
The workmanship of fear, forged chains for maa 
Senates were meeting, statesmen loudly talked 
Of national resoxirces, war and peace. 
And sagely balanced empires soon to end ; 
And faction's jaded minions, by the page 
Paid for abuse and oft-repeated lies, 
In daily prints, the thoroughfare of news. 
For party schemes, made interest, vmder cloak 
Of liberty, and right, and public weal. 
In holy COD clave, bishops spoke of tithes 



1528 THE COURSE Oh" TIME. 

And of the awfxil wickedness of men. 

Intoxicate with sceptres, diadems, 

And universal rule, and panting hard 

For fame, heroes were leading on the brave 

To battle. Men, in science deeply read, 

Ard academic theory, foretold 

Improvements vast ; and learned sceptics proved 

That earth shoTild with eternity endure — 

Concluding madly, that there was no God. 

No sign of change appeared : to every man 
That day seemed as the past. From noontide path 
The sun looked gloriously on earth, and all 
Her scene? of giddy folly smiled secure, 
When suddenly, alas, fair earth ! the sun 
Was wrapped in darkness, and his beams returned 
Up to the throne of God, and over all 
The earth came night, moonless and starless night. 
Nature stood still. The seas and rivers stood, 
And aU the winds and every living thing. 
The cataract, that, like a giant wroth. 
Rushed down impetuously, as seized at once, 
By sudden frost, with all his hoary locks. 
Stood still ; and beasts of every kind stood stilL 
A deep and dreadful silence reigned alone ! 
Hope died in every breast, and on all men 
Came fear and trembling. None to his neighbor spoka 
Husband thought not of wife, nor of her child 
The mother, nor friend of friend, nor foe of foe. 
In horrible suspense all mortals stood ; 
And, as they stood and listened, chariots w^ere hetai 
Rolling in heaven. Revealed in flaming Are, 
The angel of God appeared in stature vast, 
Blazing, and, lifting up his hand on high, 
By Him that lives for ever, swore, that Time 
Should be no more. Tliroughout, creation heard 



329 



And sighed ; all rivers, lakes, and seas, and viroods, 

Desponding waste, and cultivated vale, 

Wild cave, and ancient hill, and every rock, 

Sighed. Earth, arrested in her wonted path, 

As ox struck by the lifted axe, when naught 

Was feared, in all her entrails deeply groaned. 

A universal crash was heard, as if 

The ribs of Nature broke, and all her dark 

Foundations failed ; and deadly paleness sat 

On every face of man, and every heart 

Grew chill, and every knee his feRow smote. 

None spoke, none stirred, none wept ; for horror held 

All motionless, and fettered every tongue. 

Again, o'er all the nations silence fell : 

And, in the heavens, robed in excessive light, 

rhat drove the thick of darkness far aside. 

And walked A\-ith penetration keen, through all 

The abodes of men, another angel stood, 

And blew the trump of God : Awake, ye dead, 

Be changed, ye living, and put on the garb 

Of immortality. Awake, arise ! — 

The God of judgment comes ! This said the voice, 

Ajid Silence, from eternity that slept 

Beyond the sphere of the creating Word, 

And all the noise of Time, awakened, hearcJ* 

Heaven heard, and earth, and farthest heU, throTigh 

aU 
Her regions of despair ; the ear of Death 
Heard, and the sleep that for so long a night 
Pressed on his leaden eyelids, fled ; and all 
The dead awoke, and aU the living changed. 

Old men, that on their staff, bending, had leaned, 
Crazy and frail, or sat, benimibed with age. 
In weary listlessness, ripe for the grave, 
Felt through their sluggish veins and withered limba 

28* 



330 THE conisr; of time. 

New vigoi flow ; the wrinkled face grew smooth *, 

Upon the head, that Time had razored bare, 

Rose bushy locks ; and as liis son in prime 

Of strength and youth, the aged father stood. 

Changing herself, the mother saw her son 

Grow up, and suddenly put on the form 

Of manhood ; and the wretch that begging sat, 

Limbless, deformed, at corner of the way. 

Unmindful of his crutch, in joint and limb. 

Arose complete ; and he, that on the bed 

Of mortal sickness, worn with sore distress. 

Lay breathing forth his soul to death, felt now 

The tide of life and vigor rushing back ; 

And, looking up, beheld his weeping wife, 

And daughter fond, that o'or him, bending, stooped 

To close his eyes. The frantic madman, too, 

tn whose confused brain reason had lost 

Her way, long driven at runclom to and fro, 

Jrew sober, and his manacles fell off. 

The newly-sheeted corpse arose, and stared 

On those who dressed it ; and the coffined dead. 

That men were bearing to the tomb, awoke. 

And mingled with theu* tiionds ; and armies, whicl 

The trump surprised, met in the furious shock 

Of battle, saw the bleeding ranks, new fallen, 

Rise up at once, and to their ghastly cheeks 

Return the stream of lii'e in healthy flow ; 

And as the anatomist, witli all his band 

Of rude disciples, o'er the subject hung. 

And impolitely hewed his way, through bones 

And muscles of the sacred human form. 

Exposing barbarously to wanton gaze. 

The mysteries of nature, joint embraced 

His kindred jomt, the wounded flesh grew ap, 

And suddenly the injured tnan awoke, 

Ajnoiig their hands, and stood arrayed complete 



831 



In immortality — forgiving scarce 
The kisult offered to his clay in death. 

That was the hour, long wished for by the good, 
Of universal jubilee to all 

The sons of bondage ; from the oppressor's hand 
Tlie scourge of violence fell, and from his back, 
Healed of its stripes, the burden of the slave. 

The youth of great religious sord, who sat 
Retired in voluntary loneliness. 
In reverie extravagant now ^Tapped, 
Or poring now on book of ancient date, 
With filial awe, and dipping oft his pen 
To write immortal things ; to pleasure deaf, 
And joys of common men, working his way 
With mighty energy, not uninspired. 
Through all the mines of thought ; reckless of pain. 
And weariness, and wasted health, the scoff 
Of Pride, or growl of Envy's hellish brood ; 
While Fancy, voyaged far beyond the bounds 
Of years revealed, heard many a future age, 
With commendation loud, repeat his name, — 
False prophetess ! the day of change was ccme, — 
Behind the shadow of eternity'-. 
He saw his visions set of earthly fame, 
For ever set ; nor sighed, while through his veina» 
In lighter current, ran immortal life ; 
His form renewed to vmdecajing health ; 
To undecajing health his soul, erewhile 
Not timed amiss to God's eternal praise. 

All men, in field and city, by the way, 
On land or sea, lolling in gorgeous hall. 
Or pljing at the oar ; crawling in rags 
Obscure, or dazzling in embroidered gold ; 



J32 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Alone, in companies, at home, abroad ; 
In wanton merriment surprised and taken. 
Or kneeling reverently in act of prayer ; 
Or cursing recklessly, or uttering lies ; 
Or lapping greedily, from slander's cup, 
The blood of reputation ; or between 
Friendships and brotherhoods devising strife ; 
Or plotting to defile a neighbor's bed ; 
In duel met with dagger of revenge ; 
Or casting on the widow's heritage 
The eye of covetousness ; or, with full hand. 
On mercy's noiseless errands, unobserved, 
Administering ; or meditating fraud 
And deeds of horrid barbarous intent ; 
In full pvirsuit of unexperienced hope, 
Fluttering along the flowery path of youth ; 
Or steeped in disappointment's bitterness, 
The fevered cup that guilt must ever drink. 
When parched and fainting on the road of ill ; 
Beggar and king, the clown and haughty lord; 
The venerable sage, and empty fop ; 
The ancient matron, and the rosy bride ; 
The virgin chaste, and shiivelled harlot vile ; 
The savage fierce, and man of science mild ; 
The good and evil, in a moment, all 
Were changed, corruptible to incorrupt, 
And mortal to immortal, ne'er to change. 

And now, descending from the bowers of heaven, 
Soft airs o'er all the earth, spreading, were heard, 
And Hallelujahs sweet, the harmony 
Of righteous soids that came to repossess 
Their long neglected bodies : and anon 
Upon the ear fell horribly the sound 
Of cursing, and the yells of damned despair, 
Uttered by felon spirits, that the trump 



Had siiminoned from the biiming glooms of hell 
To put their bodies on. resented for wo. 

Now, starting up among the living changed. 
Appeared innumerous the risen dead. 
Each particle of dust was claimed : the tur^ 
For ages trod beneath the careless foot 
Of men, rose, organized in human form ; 
The monumental stones were rolled away ; 
The doors of death were opened ; and in the dark 
And loathsome vault, and silent charnel houjse, 
Moving, were heard the mouldered bones, that sought 
Their proper place. Instinctive, every soul 
Flew to its clayey part ; from grass- grown mould. 
The nameless spirit took its ashes up, 
Reanimate ; and, merging from beneath 
The flattered marble, undistinguished rose 
The great, nor heeded once the lavish rhjnne. 
And costly pomp of sculptured garnish vain. 
The Memphian mximmy, that, from age to age 
Descending, bought and sold a thousand times, 
In hall of curious antiquary stowed, 
Wrapped in mysterious weeds, the wondrous theme 
Of many an erring tale, shook off its rags ; 
And the bro-vvn son of Egypt stood beside 
The European, his last purchaser. 
In vale remote, the hermit rose, surprised 
At crowds that rose aro\md him, where he though 
His slumbers had been single ; and the bard. 
Who fondly covenanted with his friend, 
To lay his bones beneath the sighing bough 
Of some old lonely tree, rising, was pressed 
By multitudes that claimed their proper dust 
From the same spot ; and he, that, richly hearsed. 
With gloomy g?.miture of purchased wo, 
Embalmed, in princely sepulchre was laid. 



834 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Apart from vulgar men, built tucely round 

And round by the proud heir, who blushed to thick 

His father's lordly clay should ever mix 

With peasant dust, — saw by his side awake 

The clown that long had slumbered in his arms. 



The family tomb, to whose devouring mouth 
Descended sire and son, age after age, 
In long, unbroken, hereditary line, 
Poured forth at once, the ancient father rude, 
And all his offsprmg of a thousand years. 
Refreshed from sweet repose, awoke the man 
Of charitable life — awoke and sung : 
And from his prison house, slowly and sad. 
As if unsatisfied with holding near 
Communion with the earth, the miser drew 
His carcass forth, and gnashed his teeth, and howlei, 
Unsolaced by his gold and silver then. 
From simple stone in lonely wilderness. 
That hoary lay, o'er-lettered by the hand 
Of oft-frequenting pilgrim, who had taught 
The willow tree to weep, at morn and even, 
Over the sacred spot, — the martjT saint, 
To song of seraph harp, triumphant, rose, 
Well pleased that he had suffered to the death. 
" The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces," 
As sung the bard by Nature's hand anointed, 
In whose capacious giant nuii.bers rolled 
The passions of old Time, fell lumbering down. 
All cities fell, and every work of man, 
And gave their portion forth of human dust, 
Touched by the mortal finger of decay. 
Tree, herb, and flower, and every fowl of heavoja, 
And fish, and animal, the wild and tame. 
Forthwith dissolving, crumbled into dust. 



BOOK vn. 33A 

t 
Alas ! ye sons of strcngtli, ye ancient oaks, 
Ye holy pines, ye elms, and cedars tall, 
Like towers of God, far seen on Carmel mount 

Or Lebanon, that waved your boughs on high, i 

And laughed at all the \\-inds, — your hour was come ! i 
Ye laurels, ever green, and bays, that wont 
To ^\Teath the patriot's and the poet's brow. 

Ye mjTtle bowers, and groves of sacred shade, j 
Wliere Music ever sung, and Zephyr fanned 

Eis airy "wing, wet with the dews of life, i 

And Spring forever smiled, the fragrant haunt j 

Of Love, and Health, and ever-dancing Mirth, — j 

Alas ! how suddenly your verdure died, I 

And ceased your minstrelsy, to sing no more ! i 

Ye flowers of beauty, penciled by the hand I 

Of God, who annually renewed your birth, j 

Tv) gem the virgin robes of Nature chaste, ■ 

Ye smiling-featured daughters of the Sun ! i 
Fairer than queenly bride, by Jordan's stream 

Leading your gentle lives, retired, unseen ; ; 

Or on the sainted cliffs on Zion hill ! 

Wandering, and holding with the heavenly dews, I 

In holy revelry, your nightly loves, i 

Watched by the stars, and offering, every mom, \ 

Your incense, grateful both to God and man ; — i 

Ye lovely, gentle things, alas ! no spiing | 

Shall ever wake you now ! ye withered all 1 ! 

All in a moment drooped, and on your roots j 

The grasp of everlasting winter seized ! j 

Children of song, ye birds that dwelt in air, i 
And stole your notes from angel's lyres, and first 

Li levee of the mom, with evdogy j 

Ascending, hailed the advent of the dawn ; ; 

Or, roosted on the pensive evening bough, i 

In melancholy numbers, svmg the day j 
'{f rest ; — your little wings, failing, diss^^lved. 



13 ) THK COURSE OF TIME. 

fa middle air, and on. your harmony 
Perpetual silence fell ! Nor did his ■wing, 
Thai sailed in track of gods sublime, and fanned 
The sun, avail the eagle then ; quick smitten, 
His plumage withered in meridian height. 
And, in the valley, sunk the lordly bird, 
A clod of clay. Before the ploughman fell 
His steers, and in midway the furrow left. 
The shepherd saw his docks around him turn 
To dust. Beneath his rider fell the steed 
To ruins ; and the lion in his den 
Grew cold and stiff, or in the furious chase, 
With timid fawn, that scarcely missed his paws. 
On earth no living thing was seen but men. 
New-changed, or rising from the opening tomb. 

Athens, and Rome, and Babylon, and Tyre, 
And she that sat on Thames, queen of the seas. 
Cities once famed on earth, convulsed through all 
Their mighty ruins, threw their millions forth. 
PalmjTa's dead, where Desolation sat. 
From age to age, well pleased, in solitude, 
And silence, save when traveller's foot, or owl 
Of night, or fragment mouldering dowTi to dust, 
Broke faintly on his desert ear, — awoke. 
And Salem, holy city ! where the Prince 
Of Life, by death, a second life secured 
To man, and with him, from the grave, redeemed, 
A chosen number brought, to retinue 
His great ascent on high, and give sure pledge, 
That death was foiled, — her generations, now. 
Gave up, of kings and priests, and Pharisees ; 
Noi even the Sadducee, who fondly said. 
No mora of resurrection e'er should come. 
Could sit the summons ; to his ear did reach 
The trumpet's voice, and, ill prepared for what 



33> 



He oft haa pioved should never be, he rose 
Reluctantly, and on his face began 
To bum eternal shame. The cities, too, 
Of old, ensepulchred beneath the flood, 
Or deeply slumbering under movintains huge, 
That Earthquake, servant of the wrath of Gcd, 
Had on her wicked population thrown ; 
And marts of busy trade, long ploughed and sewn, 
By history imrecorded, or the song 
Of bard, yet not forgotten their -wickedness, 
In heaven ; — poiu-ed forth their ancient multitudes, 
That vainly wished their sleep had never broke. 
From battle-fields, where men by millions met 
To murder each his fellow, and make sport 
To kings and heroes, things long since forgot, 
Iimumerous armies rose, unbannered all, 
Unpanoplied, unpraised ; nor found a prince, 
Or general, then, to answer for their crimes, 
rhe hero's slaves, and aU the scarlet troops 
Of antichrist, and all that fought for rule, — 
Many high-sounding names, familiar once 
On earth, and praised exceedingly, but now 
Familiar most in hell, their dungeon fit, 
Where they may war eternally with God's 
Almighty thunderbolts, and win them pangs 
Of keener wo, — saw, as they sprung to life. 
The widow and the orphan ready stand. 
And helpless virgin, ravished in their sport. 
To plead against them at the coming doom. 
The Roman legions, boasting once, how loud 1 
Of Kberty, and fighting bravely o'er 
The torrid and the frigid zone, the sands 
Of burning Egypt, and the frozen hills 
Of snowy Albion, to make mankind 
Their thralls, untaught that he who made or kept 
A slave co'oll ne'er himself be trulv free, — 
29 



?38 THE COU&gE OF TIME. 

That morning, gathered up their dust, which lay 
Wide-scattered over half the globe ; nor saw 
Their eagled banners then. Sennacherib's hosts. 
Embattled once against the sons of God, 
With hisult bold, quick as the noise of mirth 
And revelry, sunk in their drunken camp. 
When death's dark angel, at the dead of night, 
Their \'itals touched, and made each pulse stand still : 
Awoke in sorrow; and the multitudes 
Of Gog, and all the fated crew that warred 
Against the chosen saints, in the last days, 
At Ai-mageddon, when the Lord came down, 
Mustering his host on Israel's holy hills. 
And, from the treasiires of his snow and hail 
Rained ten-or, and confusion rained, and death, 
And gave to all the beasts, and fowls of heaven. 
Of captains' flesh, and blood of men of war, 
A feast of many days, — revived, and, doomed 
'To second death, stood in Hamonah's vale. 

Nor yet did all that fell in battle rise, 
That day, to wailing. Here and there were seen 
The patriot bands that from his guilty throne 
The despot tore, unshackled nations, made 
llie prince respect the people's laws, drove back 
The wave of proud invasion, and rebuked 
The frantic fury of the multitude, 
llebelled, and fought and fell for liberty 
Right imderstood, true heroes in the speech 
Of heaven, where words express the thoughts of him 
Who speaks ; not undistingxiished, these, though few, 
That mom, arose, with joy and melody. 

All woke — the north and south gave up their dead 
The caravan, that in mid-journey sunk, 
Witii all its merchandise, expected long, 



S39 



And long forgot, ingulfed beneath the tide 
Of death, that the wild Spirit of the winds 
Swept, in his wrath, along the wilderness, 
In the wide desert, — woke, and saw all calm 
Aroiind, and populous -with risen men ; 
Nor of his relics thought the pilgrim then, 
Nor merchant of his silks and spiceries. 

And he, far voyaging from home and friends, 
Too curious, with a mortal eye to peep 
Into the secrets of the Pole, forbid 
By nature, whom fierce Winter seized, and froze 
To death, and wrapped in winding sheet of ice, 
And sung the requiem of his shivering ghost 
With the loud organ of his mighty winds. 
And on his memory threw the snow of ages,— 
Felt the long-absent warmth of life return, 
And shook the frozen moimtain from his bed. 

All rose, of every age, of every clime. 
Adam and Eve, the great progenitors 
Of all mankind, fair as they seemed, that mom, 
^Vhen first they met in Paradise, unfallen, 
Uncursed, — from ancient slumber broke, where once^ 
Euphrates rolled his stream ; and by them stood. 
In statTire equal, and in soul as large. 
Their last posterity, though poets sung, 
And sages proved them far degenerate. 

Blessed sight ! not unobseri'-ed by angels, nor 
Unpraised, — that day, 'mong men of every tribe 
And hue, from those who drank of Tenglio's streail 
Xo those who nightly saw the Hermit Cross, 
In utmost south retired, — rising, were seen 
The fair and ruddy sons of Albion's land, 
How glad '—not those who travelled far, and sailed, 



340 THE COURSE OF TIME. I 

To ptiTchase hunxan flesh, or wreath the yoke j 

Of vassalage on savage liberty, jj 

Or suck large fortune from the sweat of slaves; ij 

Or, with refined knavery, to cheat, j 

Poately villanous, untutored men ij 

Out of their property ; or gather sheila, ij 

Intaglios rude, old pottery, and store I 

Of mutilated gods of stone, and scraps ' 

Of barbarous epitaphs defaced, to be 

Ajnong the learned the theme of warm debate, i 

And infirute conjecture, sagely wrong ! — jj 

But those, denied to self, to earthly fame 

Denied, and earthly wealth ; who kindred left, 

And home, and ease, and all the cult\ired joys, 

Conveniences, and delicate dehghts, 

Of ripe society; in the great cause 

Of man's salvation greatly valorous, — 

The warriors of Messiah, messengers 

Of peace, and Hght, and life, whose eye, unsealed. 

Saw up the path of immortality, 

Far into bliss, saw men, immortal men. 

Wide wandering from the way : eclipsed in night, 

Dark, moonless, moral night ; h-\ing like beasts. 

Like beasts descendijig to the grave, untaught 

Of life to come, unsanctified, unsaved; 

Who, strong, though seeming weak; who, warlike 

though 
Unarmed with bow and sword ; appearing mad. 
Though sounder than the schools alone e'er made 
The doctor's head ; devote to God and truth, 
And sworn to man's eternal weal, beyond 
Repentance sworn, or thought of turning back » 
And casting far behind all earthly care, 
All coimtryships, all national regards, 
And enmities, all narrow bourns of state 
And selfish policy ; beneath their feel 



BOOK Yn. 341 



Treading all fear of opposition down. 

All fear of danger, of reproach. aU fear, 

And evil tongues ; went forth, from Britain w ent, 

A noiseless band of heavenly soldiery, 

From out the armory of God equipped 

Invincible, to conquer sin, to blow 

The trump of freedom in the despof s ear. 

To teU the bruted slave his manhood high. 

His birthright liberty, and in his hand 

To put the writ of manumission, signed t 

By God's own signature ; to drive away t 

From earth the dark, infernal legionry I 

Of superstition, ignorance, and hell ; | 

High on the pagan hills, where Satan sat, | 

Encamped, and o'er the subject kingdoms threw 

Perpetual night, to plant Immanuel's cross. 

The ensign of the Gospel blazing round 

Immortal truth ; and, in the wilderness 

Of human waste, to sow eternal life ; 

And from the rock, were Sin, with horrid yell. 

Devoured its victims unredeemed, to raise 

The melody of grateful hearts to Heaven : 

To falsehood, truth ; to pride, humility ; 

To insult, meekness ; pardon to revenge ; 

To stubborn prejudice, unwearied zeal ; 

To censtire, unacctising minds ; to stripes. 

Long stifFering ; to want of all things, hope ; 

To death, assured faith of life to come ; — 

Opposing. These great worthies, rising, shone 

Through all the tribes and nations of mankiTirl, 

Like Hesper, glorious once among the stars 

Of twilight, and around them, flocking, stood. 

Arrayed in white, the people they had saved. 

Great Ocean ! too, that morning, thou the call 
Of restitution heardst, and reverently 
29* 



842 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

To the last tiumpet's voice, in silence, listened. 

Great Ocean ! strongest of creation's sons ! 

Unconquerable, unreposed, imtired, 

Tliat rolled the wild, profound, eternal bass. 

In Nature's anthem, and made music, such 

As pleased the ear of God ! original, 

Unmarred, unfaded work of Deity, 

And vmburlesqued by mortal's puny skill. 

From age to age enduring and unchanged, 

Majestical, inimitable, vast. 

Loud uttering satire, day and night, on each 

Succeeding race, and little pompous work 

Of man ! — unfallen, rehgious, holy Sea ! 

Thou bowedst thy glorious head to none, fearedsl 

none, 
Heardst none, to none didst honor, but to God 
Thy Maker, only worthy to receive 
Thy great obeisance ! Undiscovered Sea ! 
Into thy dark, \inknown, mysterious caves, 
And secret haunts, tmfathomably deep 
Beneath all visible retired, none went. 
And came again, to tell the wonders there. 
Tremendous Sea ! what time thou lifted up 
Thy waves on high, and with thy winds and 

storms 
Strange pastime took, and shook thy mighty sides 
Indignantly, — the pride of navies fell ; 
Beyond the arm of help, unheard, unseen, 
Sunk friend and foe, with all their wealth and 

war ; 
And on thy shores, men of a thousand tribes, 
Polite and barbarous, trembling stood, amazed. 
Confounded, terrified, and thought vast thoughts 
3f r\un, boundlessness, omnipotenfje, 
Infinitude, eternity ; and thought 



34S 



And wondared still* and grasped, and grasped, and 

grasjjed 
Again ; beyond her reach, exerting all 
The soul, to take thy great idea in. 
To comprehend incomprehensible ; 
And wondered more, and felt their Kttlenesa, 
SeLf-pnrifying, unpolluted Sea ! 
Lover unchangeable, thy faithful breast 
For ever heaving to the lovely Moon, 
That, like a shy and holy virgin, robed 
In saintly white, walked nightly in the heavens, 
And to the everlasting serenade 
Gave gracious audience ; nor was wooed in vain. 
Tliat morning, thoii, that slumbered not before, 
Xor slept, great Ocean ! laid thy waves to rest. 
And hiished thy mighty minstrelsy. No breath 
Thy deep composure stirred, no fin, no oar; 
Like beauty newly dead, so calm, so still. 
So lovely, thou^ beneath the light that fell 
From angel-chariots, sentinelled on high, 
Ke^xised, and listened, and saw thy living change. 
Thy dead arise. Charybdis listened, and ScyUa; 
And savage Euxine, on the Thracian beach. 
Lay motionless : and every battle-ship 
Stood stilL. and every ship of merchandise. 
And all that sailed, of every name, stood stilL 
Even as the ship of war, full fledged, and swift. 
Like some fierce bird of prey, bore on hex ioe^ 
Opposing with as fell latent, the wind 
Fell \vithered from her wings that idly hung ; 
The stormy bullet, by the cannon thrown 
Un jivilly against the heavenly face 
Of mai, half sped, sxmk harmlessly, and all 
Her loud, uncircximcised, tempestuous crew. 
How ill prepared to meet their Gch\ ! — wer« 

changed. 



S44 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Unchangeable — the pilot at the helm 

Was changed and the rough captain, while he 

mouthed 
The huge, enormous oath. The fisherman, 
That in his boat, expectant, watched his lii.es, 
Or mended on the shore liis net, and sung, 
Happy in thoughtlessness, some careless air, 
Heard Time depart, and felt the sudden change. 
In solitary deep, far out from land. 
Or steering from the port with many a cheer. 
Or while returning from long voyage, fraught 
With lusty wealth, rejoicing to have escaped 
The dangerous main, and plagues of foreign 

climes, — 
The merchant quaffed his native air, refreshed ; 
And saw his native hills in the sun's light. 
Serenely rise ; and thought of meetings glad, 
And many days of ease and honor, spent 
Among his friends — imwamed man ! even then. 
The kneU of Time broke on his reverie, 
And, in the twinkling of an eye, his hopes. 
All earthly, perished all. As sudden rose, 
From out their watery beds, the Ocean's dead. 
Renewed ; and, on the unstirring billows, stood 
From pole to pole, thick covering all the sea — j 

Of every nation blent, and every age. 

Wherever slept one grain of human dust, 
Essential organ of a human-soul, 
Wherever tossed, obedient to the call 
Of God's omnipotence, it hurried on 
To meet its fellow particles, revived, 
Rebxiilt, in union indestructible. 
No atom of his spoils remained to Death. 
From his strong arm, by stronger arm released, 
Immortal now in soul and body both. 



340 



Beyond his reach, stood all the sons of men, 
And saw, behind, his valley lie, unfearod. 

O Death ! with what an eye of desperate lust, 
From out thy emptied vaults, thou then didst look 
After the risen multitudes of all 
Mankind ! Ah ! thou hadst been the terror long, 
And murderer, of all of woman born. 
None coidd escape thee ! In thy dimgeon house, 
Where darkness dwelt, and putrid loathsomeness 
And fearful silence, villanously still. 
And all of horrible and deadly name, — 
Thou satst, from age to age, insatiate. 
And drank the blood of men, and gorged then: 

flesh. 
And with thy iron teeth didst grind their bones 
To powder, treading out, beneath thy feet. 
Their very names and memories. The blood 
Of nations could not slake thy parched throat. 
No bribe could buy thy favor for an hour, 
Or mitigate thy ever-cruel rage 
For human prey. Gold, beauty, virtue, youth 
Even helpless, swaddled innocency, failed 
To soften thy heart of stone ! the infant's blood 
Pleased well thy taste, and while the mother 

wept, 
Bereaved by thee, lonely and waste in wo, 
Thy ever- grinding jaws devoured her too. 

Each son of Adam's family beheld. 
Where'er he turned, whatever path of life 
He trode, thy goblin form before him stand, 
Like trusty old assassin, in his aim 
Steady and sure as eye of destiny. 
With scythe, and dart, and strength invincible^ 
Equipped, and ever menaciag his life. 



liC^ THE COI'TISB OF TI]|B> 

He turned aside, he dro\\nied himself in sleep, 
In >vint\ in pleasure ; txavoUot^l, roj-aged, sought 
Koocipts for health from all ho mot ; botook 
To business, speculate, rotirovl ; rotunied 
Again to active life, again rotirod ; 
Kotume^i, u^tiroil aijiun ; prep:u*eil to die, 
T:dkeil of thy notliingness, conrcrsoil of life 
To come, laughed at liis fo;u^ tilloil up the cup, 
Pnu\k deep, refrained; tillod up, rofnune^l again, 
Planned, built lum roimd with spleiidor, won ap 

plaxise. 
Made livrge allumees with men and things. 
Road deep in science and philosophy, 
To fortify liis soul ; hearvi lectures prove 
TTie pro^ont ill, and future good ; observed 
His pulse boat reg\il:u-, extended hope ; 
Thought, dissipated thought, and thought again ; 
Indulged, abst^inevl, and tried a thousai\d schemes, 
To ward thy blow, or hide thee from his eye ; 
But stiLl thy gloomy terrors, dipped in sin« 
Before him frowned, and withered all his joy. 
Still, feared and hated thing I thy ghostly shape 
Stood in his avenues of fiurest hope ; 
Unmannerly and uninvited, crept 
Into his ha\mts of most select delight. 
Still, on his halls of niirtlx, and bimqueting, 
And revelry, thy shadowy hand was seeji 
Writing thy name of— D oath. Vile worm, that gnawed 
The root of all his happiness terrene, the gall 
Of all his sweet, the thorn of every rose 
Of eartlily bloom, cloud of his noon- day sky, 
Frost of his spring, sigh of his loudest laugh. 
Dark spot on every form of loveliness, 
Rank smell amidst his rarest spiceries, 
Harsh dissonance of all his harmony, 
Reserve of every promise, and the if 



347 



Of all to-morrows ! — now, beyond thy vale, 
Stood all the ran.somcd multitude of men. 
Immortal all : and in their vinion-s, saw 
ITiy visage grim no more. Great payment day t 
Of all thou ever conquered^ none was left 
In thy unpeopled realms, so populous once, 
lie, at whose girdle hang the keys of death, 
And life, not bought but with the blood of Ilim 
Who wears, the eternal Son of God, that mom. 
Dispelled the cloud that sat so long, so thick, 
80 heavy o'er thy vale ; opened all thy doors, 
Unopened before ; and set thy prisoner-} free. 
Vain was resistance, and to follow vain. 
In thy unveiled caves, and solitudes 
Of rlark and dismal emptiness, thou satst. 
Rolling thy hollow eyes, disahtled thing ! 
Helpless, despised, unpiticd, and unlearcd. 
Like some fallen tjTant, chained in sight of all 
The people ; from thee dropped thy pointless dart, 
ITiy terrors withered all, thy ministers, 
Annihilated, fell before thy face, 
And on thy maw eternal Hunger seized. 

Nor yet, Bad monster ! wast thou left alone. 
In thy dark dens some phantoms still remained,^* 
Ambition, Vanity, and earthly Fame, 
Swollen Ostentation, meagre Avarice, 
5Iad Superstition, smooth H\-pocri^y, 
And Bigotry intolerant, and Fraurl, 
And wilful Ignorance, and sullen Pride, 
Hot Controversy, and the subtle ghost 
Of vain Philosophy, and worldly Hope, 
And sweet-lipped, hollow-hearted Flattery. 
All these, great personages once on earth, 
And not unfoUowerl, nor unpraised, were left. 
Thy ever -unredeemed, and with thee driven 



348 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

To Erebtw, through whose tmcheered wastes, 
Thou mayest chase them, with thy broken scythe 
Fetching vain strokes, to all eternity. 
Unsatisfied, as men who, in the days 
Of Time, their imsubstaatial fonus pursued^ 



U ]{ S E OF T I M E 
BOOK vxn. 



AKAL1 



Oft 




COURSE OF TIME 



BOOK VIII, 



'ELeaxsmmt^ mow, and dresKd 
Of CTcriMii^ ira«; m ^be i»i pi 

BooyoEt B aa; or uiveiiag akove < 
Earth. was» md : 




artiH»aB< 



352 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

The true, untampered witness of the heart, 
No smile of hope, no look of vanity 
Beseeching for applause, was seen ; no scowl 
Of self-important, all-despising pride, 
That once upon the poor and needy feU, 
Like winter on the unprotected flower, 
Withering their very being to decay. 
No jesting mirth, no wanton leer, was seen. 
No sullen lower of braggart fortitude 
Defying pain, nor anger, nor revenge ; 
But fear instead, and terror, and remorse ; 
And chief, one passion, to its answering, shaped 
The features, of the damned, and in itself 
Summed all the rest, — unutterable despair. 

What on the righteous shone of foreign light, 
Was all redundant day, they needed not. 
For as, by nature. Sin is dark, and loves 
The dark, still hiding from itself in gloom. 
And In the darkest hell is still itself 
The darkest heU, and the severest wo", 
Where all is wo ; so Virtue, ever fair ! 
Doth by a sympathy as strong as binds 
Two equal hearts, well pleased in wedded love, 
For ever seek the light, for ever seek 
All fair and lovely things, all beauteous forms, 
All images of excellence and truth ; 
And from her own essential being, pure 
As flows the fount of life that spirits drink, 
Doth to herself give light, nor from her beams, 
As native to her as her own existence, 
Can be divorced, nor of her glory shorn, — 
Which now, from every feature of the just, 
Divinely rayed, yet not from all alike ; 
In measure, equal to the soul's advance 
In virtue, was the lustre of the face. 



I: 



BOOK vni. 353 



It was a strange assembly : none, of all 
That congregation vast, coxild recollect 
Aught like it in the history of man. 
No badge of outward state was seen, no mark 
Of age, or rank, or national attire. 
Or robe professional, or air of trade. 
Untitled, stood the man that once was called 
My lord, unserved, unfollowed ; and the man 
Of tithes, right reverend in the dialect 
Of Time addressed, imgowned, \mbeneficed, 
Uncorpulent ; nor now, from him who bore, 
With ceremonious gravity of step. 
And face of borrowed holiness o'erlaid, 
The ponderous book before the awful priest, 
And opened and shut the pidpit's sacred gates 
In style of wonderful observancy 
And reverence excessive, in the beams 
Of sacerdotal splendor lost, or if 
Observed, comparison ridiculous scarce 
Could save the little, pompous, humble man 
From laughter of the people, — not from him 
Coidd be distinguished then the priest untithed. 
None levees held, those marts where princely smiiet 
Were sold for flattery, and obeisance mean. 
Unfit from man to man ; none came or went, 
None wished to draw attention, none was poor, 
None rich, none yo\m.g, none old, deformed none ; 
None sought for place or favor, none had aught 
To give, none could receive, none ruled, none served 
No king, no subject was ; imscutcheoned all. 
Uncrowned, implumed, xmhehned, vmpedigreed. 
Unlaced, imcoroneted, unbestarred. 
Nor coimtryman was seen, nor citizen ; 
Republican, nor humble advocate 
Of monarchy ; nor idle worshipper, 
Nor beaded papist, nor Mahometan; 
20* 



854 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Episcopalian none, nor presbyter ; 

Nor Lutheran, nor Calvunist, nor JeAV, 

Nor Greek, nor sectary of any name. 

Nor, of those persons, that loud title bore, 

Most high and mighty, most magnificent. 

Most potent, most august, most worshipful, 

Most eminent, words of great pomp, that pleased 

The ear of vanity, and made the worms 

Of earth mistake themselves for gods, — could one 

Be seen, to claim these phrases obsolete. 

It was a congregation vast of "nen, 
Of unappendaged and unvarnished men, 
Of plain, \inceremonious human beings, 
Of all but moral character bereaved. 
His vice, or virtue, now, to each remained, 
Alone. All else, with their grave-ck)thes, men had 
Put off, as badges worn by mortal, not 
Immortal man ; alloy that could not pass 
The scrutiny of Death's refining fires ; 
Dust of Time's wheels, by multitudes pursued 
Of fools that shouted — Gold ! fair painted fruit, 
At which the ambitious idiot jimiped, while men 
Of wiser mood immortal harvest reaped ; 
Weeds of the human garden, sprung from earth's 
Adulterate soil, unfit to be transplanted. 
Though by the mortal botanist, too oft, 
For plants of heavenly seed mistaken and nursed, 
Mere chaff", that Virtue, when she rose from earth, 
And waved her wings to gain her native heights, 
Drove from the verge of being, leaving Vice 
No mask to hide her in ; base-bom of Time, 
In wMch God claimed no property, nor had 
Prepared for them a place in heaven or helL 
Yet did these vain distinctions, now forgot, 
Bulk largely in the filmy eye of Time, 



HOOK vm. 365 

Anrl were exceeding fair, and lured to death 
Immortal souls. But they were passed, for ali 
Ideal now was i)assed ; reality 
4.1one remained ; and good and bad, redeemed 
And unredeemed, distinguished sole the sons 
Of men. Each, to his proper self reduced, 
And luidisguised, was what his seeming showed. 

The man of earthly fame, whom common men 
Made boast of having seen, who scarce could pass 
The ways of Time, for eager crowds that pressed 
To do him homage, and pursued his ear 
"With endless praise, for deeds \inpraised above, 
And yoked their brutal natures, honored much 
To drag his chariot on, — unnoticed stood. 
With none to praise him, none to flatter there. 

Blushing and dumb, that morning, too, was seeii 
The mighty reasoner, he who deeply searched 
The origin of things, and talked of good 
And evil, much, of causes and effects, 
Of mind and matter, contradicting all 
That went before him, and himself, the while, 
The laughing-stock of angels ; diving far 
Below his depth, to fetch reluctant proofi 
That he himself was mad and wicked too, 
Allien, proud and ignorant man, he meant to prove 
That God had made the universe amiss, 
And sketched a better plan. Ah ! foolish sage ! 
He could not trust the word of Heaven, nor see 
The light which from the Bible blazed, — that lamp 
Which God threw from his palace down to earth. 
To guide his wandering children home, — yet leaned 
His cautious faith on speculations wild, 
And visionary theories absurd. 
Prodigiously, deliriously absm-d, 



556 THE coxmsE or time. 

Compared with wMch, the most erroneous fligM 

That poet ever took when warm with wine, 

Was moderate conjecturing : he saw, 

Weighed in the balance of eternity, 

His lore how light, and wished, too late, that he 

Had staid at home, and learned to know himself 

And done, what peasants did, disputed less. 

And more obeyed. Nor less he grieved his time 

Misspent, the man of curious research. 

Who travelled far through lands of hostile clime 

And dangerous inhabitant, to fix 

The bovmds of empires passed, and ascertain 

The burial-place of heroes, never bom ; 

Despising present things, and future too, 

And groping in the dark tmsearchable 

Of finished years, — by dreary ruins seen, 

And dungeons -damp, and vavilts of ancient waste^ 

With spade and mattock, delving deep to raise 

Old vases and dismembered idols rude ; 

With matchless perseverance, speUing out 

Words without sense. Poor man ! he clapped hi 

hands 
Enraptxired, when he found a manuscript 
That spoke of pagan gods ; and yet forgot 
The God who made the sea and sky, alas ! 
Forgot that trifling was a sin ; stored much 
Of dubious stuff', but laid no treasure up 
In heaven ; on mouldered columns scratched hii 

name, 
But ne'er inscribed it in the book of life. 

Unprofitable seemed, and unapproved, 
That day, the sullen, self- vindictive life 
Of the recluse. With crucifixes hung. 
And spells, and rosaries, and wooden saints. 
Like one of reason reft, he journeyed forth. 



BOOK vm. 8^7 

In show of miserable poverty, 
And chose to beg, — as if to lire on sweat 
Of other men, had promised great reward ; 
On his own flesh inflicted cruel wounds, 
With naked foot embraced the ice, by the hour 
Said mass, and did most grievous penance vile ; 
And then retired to drink the filthy cup 
Of secret wickedness, and fabricate 
All lying wonders, by the untaught received 
For revelations new. Deluded wretch ! 
Did he no know, that the most Holy One 
Required a cheerful life and holy heart ? 

Most disappointed in that crowd of men. 
The man of subtle controversy stood, 
The bigot theologian, in minute 
Distinctions skilled, and doctrines unreduced 
To practice ; in debate how loud ! how long I 
How dexterous ! in Christian love how cold I 
TTia vain conceits were orthodox alone. 
The immutable and heavenly truth, revealed 
By God, was naught to him. He had an art, 
A kind of hellish charm, that made the lips 
Of truth speak falsehood, to his liking ttimed 
The meaning of the text, made trifles seem 
The marrow of salvation ; to a word, 
A name, a sect, that sounded in the ear, 
And to the eye so many letters showed. 
But did no more, — gave value infinite ; 
Proved stiU his reasoning best, and his belief 
Though propped on fancies wild as madmen's dreami^ 
Most rational, most scriptural, most sound; 
With mortal heresy denouncing all 
Who in his arguments could see no fore e. 
On points of faith, too fine for human sight. 
And never understood in heaven, he placed 



358 THECOUESE OP TIME. 

Hi a everlasting hope, iindoubting placed, 

And died ; and, when he opened his ear, prepared 

To hear, beyond the gra\ c, the minstrelsy 

Of bliss, he heard, alas ! the wail of wo. 

He proved all creeds false but his own, and found. 

At last, his own most false — most false, because 

He spent his time to prove all others so. 

O, love-destroying, cursed Bigotry ! 
Cursed in heaven, but cursed more in hell, ; 

WTiere millions curse thee, and must ever curse 1 i 

Rehgion's most abhorred ! perdition's most I 

Forlorn ! God's most abandoned ! hell's most damned^ | 

The infidel, who turned his impious war 
Against the walls of Zion, on the rock |i 

Of ages built, and higher than the clouds, I] 

Sinned, and received his due reward ; but she |l 

Within her walls sinned more. Of Ignorance jl 

Begot, her daughter, Persecution, walked jj 

The earth, from age to age, and drank the blood 
Of God's peculiar children, and was drunk, 
And in her drunkenness dreamed of doing good. 
The supplicating hand of innocence. 
That made the tiger mild, and in his \STath 
The lion pause, the groans of suffering most 
Severe, were naught to her ; she laughed at groans 
No music pleased her more, and no repast 
So sweet to her, as blood of men redeemed 
By blood of Christ. Ambition's self, though mad. 
And nursed on human gore, with her compared 
Was merciful. Nor did she always rage. 
She had some hours of meditation, set 
Apart, wherein she to her study went. 
The Inquisition, model most complete 
Of perfect wickedness, where deeds were done, — 
Deeds I let them ne'er be named, — and sat and planned 



BOOK vm. 358 

Doliberately, and with most musing paina, 

How, to extremest thrill of agony, 

The flesh, and blood, and souls of holy men, 

Her victims, might be wrought ; and when she saw 

New tortures of her laboring fancy bom. 

She leaped for joy, and made great haste to try 

Their force — well pleased to hear a deeper groaiu 

But now her day of mirth was passed, and come 
Her day to weep, her day of bitter groans, 
And sorrow unbemoaned, the day of grief 
And wTath retributory poured in full 
On all that took her part. The man of sin, 
The mystery of iniquity, her friend 
Sincere, who pardoned sin, unpardoned still. 
And in the name of God blasphemed, and did 
All wicked, all abominable things. 
Most abject stood, that day, by devils hissed, 
And by the looks of those he murdered, scorched : 
And plagued with inward shame, that on his cheek 
Burned, while his votaries, who left the earth. 
Secure of bliss, around him, undeceived, 
Stood, xmdeceivable till then ; and knew, 
Too late, him fallible, themselves accursed. 
And all their passports and certificates, 
A lie : nor disappointed more, nor more 
Ashamed, the Mussulman, when he saw, gnash 
His teeth and wail, whom he expected judge. 
All these were damned for bigotry, were damned. 
Because they thought that they alone served God, 
And served him most, when most they disobeyed. 

Of those forlorn and sad, thoumightst have marked 
In number most innumerable, stand 
The indolent; too lazy these to make 
Inquiry for themselves, they stuck their faith 



I' 360 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

l! 

j; To some well-fatted priest, with offerings bribed 

To bring them oracles of peace, and take 
Into his management all the concerns 
Of their eternity ; managed how well 
They knew, that day, and might have sooner known 
• That the commandment was, Search, and believe 

In Me, and not in man ; who leans on him 
Leans on a broken reed, that will impierce 
The trusted side. I am the way, the truth, 
The life, alone, and there is none besides. 

! 

I This did they read, and yet refused to search, 

ij To search what easily was found, and, found, 

Of price \mcountable. Most foolish, they 
Thought God with ignorance pleased, and blinded 

faith, 
That took not root in reason, purified 
With holy influence of his Spirit pure ; 
So, on they walked, and stumbled in the light 
Of noon, because they would not open their eyes ; 
Effect how sad of sloth ! that made them risk 
Their piloting to the eternal shore, 
To one who could mistake the lurid flash 
Of hell for heaven's true star, rather than bow 
The knee, and by one fervent word obtain 
His guidance sure, who calls the stars by name. 
They prayed by proxy, and at second hand 
Beheved, and slept, and put repentance off. 
Until the knock of death awoke them, when 
They saw their ignorance both, and him they paid 
To bargain of their souls 'twixt them and God, 
Fled, and began repentance without end. 
How did they wish, that morning, as they stood 
With blushing covered, they had for themselves 
The Scripture searched, had for themselves believed, 
Ajid made acquaintance witl the Jidge ere then. 



BOOK VIU. 361 

Great day of termination to the joys 
Of sin ! to joys tliat grew on mortal boughs, 
On trees whose seed fell not from heaven, wh(>se top 
Reached not above the clouds. From such, alou<? 
The epiciire took all his meals. In choice 
Of morsels for the body, nice he was, 
And scrupulous, and knew all wines by smell 
Or taste, and every composition knew 
Of cookery ; but grossly drank, unslcilled, 
rhe cup of spiritual pollution up, 
That sickened his soul to death, while yet his eyes 
Stood out witK fat. His feelings were his guide. 
He ate, and dr< ik, and slept, and took all joys, 
Forbid and unfoi bid, as impulse urged 
Or appetite, nor asked his reason why. 
He said, he followed Nature still, but lied ; 
For she was temperate and chaste, he full 
Of wine and all adultery ; her face 
Was holy, most unholy his ; her eye 
Was pure, his shot unhallowed Are ; her lips 
Sang praise to God, his uttered oaths profane ; 
Her breath was sweet, his rank with foul debauch 
Yet pleaded he a kind and feeling heart. 
Even when he left a neighbor's bed defiled. 
Like migratory fowls, that flocking sailed 
From isle to isle, steering by sense alone, 
Whither the clime their liking best beseemed ; 
So he was guided, so he moved through good 
And evil, right and wrong, but, ah ! to fate 
All different ; they slept in dust, unpained ; 
He rose, that day, to suffer endless pain. 

Cured of his unbelief^ the skeptic stood. 
Who doubted of his being while he breathed. 
Than whom glossography itself, that spoke 
Huge folios of nonsense every hour, 
31 



162 THE COURSE OF TIMB. 

And left, surrounding every page, its marks 
Of prodigal stupidity, scarce more 
Of folly raved. The tyrant, too, who sat 
In grisly council, like a spider couched, 
With ministers of locust countenance, 
And made alliances to rob mankind. 
And holy termed, — for still, beneath a name 
Of pious sound, the wicked sought to veil 
Their crimes, — forgetful of his right divine, 
Trembled, and owned oppression was of hell ; 
Nor did the izncivil robber, who impursed 
The traveller on the highway, and cut 
His throat, anticipate severer doom. 

In that assembly there was one, who, while 
Beneath the sun, aspired to be a fool ; 
In different ages known by different names, 
Not worth repeating here. Be this enough : 
With scrupulous care exact, he walked the rounds 
Of fashionable duty, laughed when sad ; 
When merry, wept ; deceiving, was deceived ; 
And flattering, flattered. Fashion was his god. 
Obsequiously he fell before its shrine, 
In slavish plight, and trembled to offend. 
If graveness suited, he was grave ; if else, 
He travailed sorely, and made brief repose. 
To work the proper quantity of sin. 
In all submissive, to his changing shape, 
Still changing, girded he his vexed frame. 
And laughter made to men of sounder head. 
Most circumspect he was of bows, and nods. 
And salutations ; and most seriously 
And deeply meditated he of dress ; 
And in his dreams saw lace and ribbons fly. 
His soul was naught ; he damned it, every day. 
Unceremoniously. Oh ! fool of fools 1 



BOOK vin. 801 

Pleased with a painted smile, he fluttered on. 

Like fly of gaudy plume, by fashion driven. 

As faded leaves by Autumn's -wind, till Death 

Put forth his hand, and drew him out of sight. 

Oh ! fool of fools ! polite to man ; to God 

Most rude ; yet had he many rivals, who, 

Age after age, great striving made to be !l 

Ridiculous, and to forget they had ij 

Immortal souls, that day remembered welL li 

As rueful stood his other half, as wan li 

Of cheek. Small her ambition was, but strange. 'i 

The distaff, needle, all domestic cares, 1} 

Religion, children, husband, home, were things :! 

She could not bear the thought of, bitter drugs, j 

That sickened her soul. The house of wanton mirth ' 

And revelry, the mask, the dance, she loved, i- 

And in their service soul and body spent 1; 

Most cheerfully. A little admiration, jj 

Or true or false, no matter which, pleased her, ,! 

And o'er the ^\Tcck of fortune lost, and health jj 

And peace, and an eternity of bliss |! 

r^ost, made her sweetly smile. She was convinced, { 

rhat God had made her greatly out of taste ; 
And took much pains to make herself anew. li 

Bedaubed -^^-ith paint, and hung with ornaments || 

Of curioiis selection, gaudy toy ! j 

A show unpaid for, paying to be seen ! j! 

As beggar by the way, most hiimbiy asking l'| 

The alms of public gaze, — she went abroad- il 

Folly admired, and indication gave |j 

Of envy, cold Civility made bows ' 

And smoothly flattered, Wisdom shook, his head. 
And Laughter shaped his Up into a smile ; I 

Sobriety did stare. Forethought grew pale, I 

And Modesty hung do-wTi the head and blushed. 



864 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

And Pity wept, as, on the frothy surge 
Of fashion tossed, she passed them by, like sail 
Before some devilish blast, and got no time 
To think, and never thought, till on the rock 
She dashed, of ruin, anguish, and despair. 

O how unlike this giddy thing in Time ! 
And a'^ the day of judgment how unlike, 
The mouest, meek, retiring dame ! Her house 
Was ordered well, her children taught the way 
Of life, who, rising up in honor, called 
Her blessed. Best pleased to be admired at honifSk 
And hear, reflected from her husband's praise, 
Her own, she sought no gaze of foreign eye ; 
His praise alone, and faithftd love, and trust 
Reposed, was happiness enough for her. 
Yet who, that saw her pass, and heard the pooi 
With earnest benedictions on her steps 
Attend, could from obeisance keep his eye, 
Or tongue from due applause ? In virtue fair. 
Adorned with modesty, and matron grace 
Unspeakable, and love, her face was like 
The light, most welcome to the eye of maiu 
Refreshing most, most honored, most desired, 
Of all he saw in the dim world below. 
As morning when she shed her golden locks, 
And on the dewy top of Hermon walked, 
Or Zion hill ; so glorious was her path. 
Old men beheld, and did her reverence. 
And bade their daughters look, and take from het 
Example of their future life ; the yoimg 
Admired, and new resolve of virtue made. 
And none who was her husband asked ; his air 
Serene, and countenance of joy, the sign 
Of mward satisfaction, as he passed 
The crowd, or sat among the elders, told. 



BOOK. vm. 36fi 

In holiness complete, and in the robes 
Of saving righteousness, arrayed for heaven. 
How fair, that day, among the fair, she stood ! 
How lovely on the eternal hilla her steps ! 

Restored to reason, on that morn, appeared 
The lunatic, who raved in chains, and asked 
No mercy when he died. Of lunacy, 
Innumerous were the causes ; himibled pride, 
Ambition disappointed, riches lost, 
A.nd bodily disease, and sorrow, oft 
By man inflicted on his brother man ; 
Sorrow that made the reason drimk, and yet 
Left much untasted — so the cup was filled ; 
Sorrow that, like an ocean, dark, deep, rough. 
And shoreless, rolled its billows o'er the soul 
Perpetually, and witliout hope of end. 

Take one example, one of female wo. 
Loved by a father an<? a mother's love. 
In rural peace she lived, so fair, so light 
Of heart, so good, and young, that reason, scarce, 
The eye could credit, tut would doubt, as she 
Did stoop to pull the liiy or the rose 
From morning's dew, if it reality 
Of flesh and blood, or holy vision, saw, 
Li imagery of perfect womanhood. 
But short her bloom, her happiness was short 
One saw her loveliness, and, with desire 
Unhallowed, burning, to her ear addressed 
Dishonest words : " Her favor was his life, 
His heaven ; her frown his wo, his night, his death 
With ttirgid phrase, thus wove in flattery's .oom, 
^le on her womanish nature won, and age 
Sxispicionless, and ruined, and forsook. 
for he a chosen villain was at heart, 
31* 



J 



56 THE COUKSE OP XIMB. 

Ajid capable of deeds that durst not seek 
Repentance. Soon her father saw her shame, 
His heart grew stone, he drove her forth to ys i 
And wintry winds, and with a horrid curse 
Pursned her ear, forbidding all return. 



Upon a hoary cliff, that watched the sea, 
Her babe was found — dead. On its Kttle cheek, 
The tear that nature bade it weep, had turned 
An ice-drop, sparkling in the morning beam ; 
And to the turf its helpless hands were frozen. 
For she, the woful mother, had gone mad. 
And laid it down, regardless of its fate. 
And of her own. Yet had she many days 
Of sorrow in the world, but never wept. 
She lived on alms, and carried in her hand 
Some withered stalks she gathered in the spring. 
When any asked the cause, she smiled and said. 
They were her sisters, and wovild come and watch 
Her grave when she was dead. She never spoko 
Of her deceiver, father, mother, home. 
Or child, or heaven, or hell, or God, but still 
In lonely places walked, and ever gazed 
Upon the withered stalks, and talked to them; \ 

Till, wasted to the shadow of her youth, ■ 

With wo too wide to see beyond, she died — 
Not unatoned for by imputed blood, 
Nor by the Spirit that mysterious works, 
Unsanctified. Aloud, her father cursed. 
That day, his guilty pride, which would not own 
A daughter, whom the God of heaven and earth 
Was not ashamed to call his own ; and he, 
Who ruined her, read from her holy look, 
That pierced him with perdition manifold, 
Hi3 sentence, burning with vindictive fire. 



BOOK VIII. 367 

The judge that took a bribe; he who amis* 
Pleaded the widow's cause, aiid by delay- 
Delaying ever, made the law at night 
More intricate than at the da^v^l, and on 
The morrow farther from a close, than when 
The sun last set, till he who in the suit 
Was poorest, by his emptied coffers, proved 
His cause the worst ; and he that had the bag 
Of weights deceitful, and the balance false ; 
And he that with a fraudful lip deceived 
In bu)ing or in selling ; — these, that mom, 
Found CTistom no excuse for sin, and knew 
Plain dealing was a virtue, but too late. 
And he that was supposed to do nor good 
Nor ill, surprised, could find no neutral groxind. 
And learned, that to do nothing was to serve 
The de-vdl, and transgress the laws of God. 
The noisy quack, that by profession hed. 
And uttered falsehoods of enormous size, 
With countenance .as grave as truth beseemed ; 
And he that lied for pleasure, whom a lust 
Of being heard and making people stare, 
And a most steadfast hate of silence, drove 
Far wide of sacred truth, who never took 
The pains to think of what he was to say, 
But still made haste to speak, with weary ton{ru« 
Like copious stream for ever flowing on ;— 
Read clearly in the lettered heavens, what, lon^ 
Before, they might have read. For every word 
Of folly, you, this day, shall give account ; 
And every liar shall his portion have 
Among the cursed, without the gates of life- 

With groans that made no p*- -»e, lamenting the 
Were seen the duellist and g ocide. 



S68 THE COUliSE OF TIME. 

This thought, but thought amiss, that of lumself 

He was entire proprietor ; and so, 

WTien he was tired of Time, with his o"v\ti hand. 

He opened the portals of Eternity, 

And sooner than the devils hoped, arrived 

In hell. The other, of resentment qviick. 

And for a word, a look, a gesture, deemed 

Not scrupvQously exact in all respect, 

Prompt to revenge, went to the cited field. 

For double murder armed, his own, and his 

That as himself he was ordained to love. 

The first, in pagan books of early times. 

Was heroism pronounced, and greatly praised. 

In fashion's glossary of later days, 

The last was honor called, and spirit high. 

Alas ! 'twas mortal spirit, honor which 

Forgot to wake at the last trumpet's voice, 

Bearing the signature of Time alone, 

Uncurrent in Eternity, and base. 

Wise men suspected this before; for they 

Could never understand what honor meant. 

Or why that should be honor termed, wliich made 

Man murder man, and broke the laws of God 

Most wantonly. Sometimes, indeed, the gi-ave. 

And those of Christian creed imagined, spoke 

Admiringly of honor, lauding much 

Tlie noble youth, who, after many rounds 

Of boxing, died ; or, to the pistol shot 

His breast exposed, his soul to endless pain. 

But they who most admired, and understood 

This honor best, and on its altar laid 

Their lives, most obviously were fools ; and, what 

Fools only, and the wicked, understood, 

The wise agreed was some delusive Shade. 

That with the mist of time should distppear. 



BOOK vni. 369 

Great day of revelation ! in the grave 
Die hypocrite had left his mask, and stood 
In naked ugliness. He was a man 
"Who stole the livery of the court of heaven, 
To serve the devil in; in virtue's guise. 
Devoured the widow's house and orphan's bread ; 
In holy phrase transacted villanies 
That common sinners durst not meddle with. 
At sacred feast, he sat among the saints, 
And ^\ith his guilty hands touched holiest things. 
And none of sin lamented more, or sighed 
More deeply, or with graver countenance. 
Or longer prayer, wept o'er the djdng man, 
^Vhose infant children, at the moment, he 
Planned how to rob. In sermon style he bought, 
And sold, and lied ; and salutations made 
In scripture terms. He prayed by quantity^ 
And with his repetitions long and loud, 
All knees were weary. With one hand he put 
A penny in the vim of poverty. 
And ^^ith the other took a shilling out. 
On charitable lists, — those trumps which told 
The public ear, who had in secret done 
The poor a benefit, and half the alms 
They told of, took themselves to keep them sovinding; 
He blazed his name, more pleased to have it there 
Than in the book of life. Seest thou the man ! 
A serpent with an angel's voice ! a grave 
With flowers bestrewed ! and yet few were decdved 
His virtues being over-done, his face 
Too grave, his prayers too long, his charities 
Too pompously attended, and his speech 
Larded too frequently and out of time 
With serious phraseology, — were rents 
That in his garments opened in spite of him, 
Through wliich the weU-accustomed eye could see 



g70 THE COURSE OB TIME. 

The rottenness of his heart. None deeper blushed. 

As in the all-piercing light he stood, exposed, 

No longer herding with the holy ones. 

Yet still he tried to bring his coTintenance 

To sanctimonious seeming ; but, meanwhile, 

The shame within, now visible to all. 

His purpose balked. The righteous smiled, and even 

Despair itself some signs of laughter gave, 

As ineffectually he strove to wipe 

His brow, that inward guiltiness defiled. 

Detected wretch ! of aU the reprobate, 

None seemed maturer for the flames of heU, 

Where still his face from ancient custom, ^ears 

A holy air, which says to all that pass 

Him by, " I was a hypocrite on earth." 

That was the hour which measured out to each. 
Impartially his share of reputation, 
Correcting all mistakes, and from the name 
Of the good man all slanders wiping off. 
Good name was dear to all. Without it, none 
Could soundly sleep, even on a royal bed. 
Or drink with relish from a cup of gold ; 
And with it, on his borrowed straw, or by 
The leafless hedge, beneath the open heavens, 
The weary beggar took imtroubled rest. 
It was a music of most heavenly tone, 
To which the heart leaped joyfully, and all 
The spirits danced. For honest fame, men laid 
Their heads upon the block, and, while the axe 
Descended, looked and smiled. It was of price 
Invaluable. Riches, health, repose, 
Whole kingdoms, life, were given for it, and he 
Who got it was the winner still ; and he 
Who sold it durst not open his ear, nor look 
Ou himian face, he knew himself so vile. 



i7l 



Vet it, with all its preciousncss, was due 

To Virtue, and around her should have shed^ 

Unasked, its savory smell ; but Vice, deformed 

Itself, and ugly, and of flavor rank, 

To rob fair Virtue of so sweet an incense, 

And with it to anoint and salve its own 

Rotten ulcers, and perfume the path that led 

To death, — strove daily by a thousand meana : 

And oft succeeded to make Virtue sour 

In the world's nostrils, and its loathly self 

Smell sweetly. Rumor was the messenger 

Of defamation, and so swift that none 

Covdd be the first to tell an evil tale ; 

And was, mthal, so infamous for lies, 

That he who of her sayings, on his creed. 

The fewest entered, was deemed wisest man. 

The fool, and many who had credit, too, 

For wisdom, grossly swallowed all she said. 

Unsifted ; and although, at every word, 

They heard her contradict herseLf^ and saw. 

Hourly, they were imposed upon and mocked. 

Yet still they ran to hear her speak, and stared, 

And wondered much, and stood aghast, and said 

It could not be ; and, while they blushed for shaia« 

At their owti faith, and seemed to doubt, believed. 

And whom they met, with many sanctions, told. 

So did experience fail to teach ; — so hard 

It was to learn this simple truth, — confirmed 

At every comer by a thousand proofs, 

That common Fame most impudently lied. 

'Twas Slander filled her mouth with lying word»— 
Slander, the foulest whelp of Sin. The man 
In whom this spirit entered was undone. 
Ills tongue was set on fire of hell, his heart 
n'a-s black as deith, his legs were faint with haste 



372 THE C^ITRSE OF TIME. 

To propagtite the lie his soul had framed. 
His pillow was the peace of families 
Destroyed, the sigh of innocence reproached, 
Broken friendships, and the strife of brotherhoods 
Yet did he spare his sleep, and hear the clock 
Number the midnight watches, on his bed. 
Devising mischief more ; and early rose. 
And made most hellish meals of good men's names. 

From door to door vou might have seen him speedy 
Or placed amidst a group of gaping fools. 
And whispering in their ears, with his foid lips. 
Peace fled the neighborhood in which he made 
iLis haimts ; and, like a moral pestilence, 
jiJefore his breath, the healthy shoots and blooms 
Of social joy and happiness decayed. 
Fools only in his company were seen, 
And those forsaken of God, and to themselves 
Given up. The prudent shunned him and his hois* 
As one who had a deadly moral plague. 
And fain woxild all have shunned him at the day 
Of judgment ; but in vain. All who gave ear 
With greediness, or wittingly their tongues 
Made herald to his hes, around him wailed ; 
While on his face, thrown back by injured men. 
In characters of ever-blushing shame, 
Appeared ten thousand slanders, all his own. 

Among the accursed, who sought a hiding place 
In vain, from fierceness of Jehovah's rage. 
And from the hot displeasure of the Lamb, 
Most wretched, most contemptible, most vile, — 
Stood the false priest, and in his conscience felt 
The fellest gnaw of the Undying Worm. 
And so he might, for he had on his hands 
The blood of souls, that would not wipe a\v%y. 



BOOK vrn. 37s 

Hear what he v:zs. He swore in sight of God 
And man, to preach his master, Jesus Chiist ; 
Yet preached himself : he swore that love of souls, 
Alone, had dra^\•n him to the church ; yet strewed 
The path that led to hell with tempting flowers, 
And in the ear of sinners, as they took 
The way of death, he whispered peace : he swore 
Away all love of lucre, all desire 
Of earthly pomp ; and yet a princely seat 
He liked, and to the clink of Mammon's box 
Gave most raj^acious ear. His prophecies. 
He swore, were from the Lord ; and yet, taught lies 
For gain : with quackish ointment, healed the woundl 
And briiises of the soul outside, but left, 
Witliin, the pestilent matter unobserved. 
To sap the moral constitution qiute, 
And soon to burst again, incurable. 
He with untcmpered mortar daubed the walls 
Of Zion, saying. Peace, when there was none. 
The man who came ^\i.th thirsty soul to hear 
Of Jesus, went away unsatisfied ; 
For he another gospel preached than Paul, 
And one that had no Saviour in't ; and yet, 
His life was worse. Faith, charity, and love. 
Humility, forgiveness, holiness, 
Were words well lettered in his sabbath creed ; 
But with his life he wrote as plain. Revenge, 
Pride, tyranny, and lust of wealth and power 
Inordinate, and lewdness unashamed. 
He was a wolf in clothing of the lamb, 
That stole into the fold of God, and on 
The blood of souls, which he did sell to death, 
Grew fat ; and yet, when any would have turned 
Him out, he cried, •" Touch not the priest of God." 
And that he was anointed, fools believed ; 
But knew, that day, he wis the devil's priest, 
32 



174 THE COUKSE 01 TDIB. 

Anointed by the hands of Sin and Death, 
And set peculiarly apart to ill, — 
While on him smoked the vials of perdition, 
Poured measxxreless. Ah me ! what cursing then 
"Was heaped upon his head by ruined souls, 
That charged him with their murder, as he stood. 
With eye of all the unredeemed most sad. 
Waiting the coming of th" Son of Man ! 
But let me pause, for thou nast seen has place 
And pimishment, beyond the sphere of love. 

Much was removed that tempted once to sin. 
Avarice no gold, no wine the drunkard, saw. 
But Envy had enough, as heretofore, 
To fill his heart with gall and bitterness. 
What made the man of envy what he was, 
Was worth in others, vileness in himself, 
A lust of praise, with xmdeserving deeds. 
And conscious poverty of soul : and still 
It was his earnest work and daily toil, 
With lying tongue, to make the noble seem 
Mean as himself. On fame's high hill he saw 
The laiirel spread its everlasting green. 
And wished to climb ; but felt his knees too weak* 
And stood, below, unhappy, laying hands 
"Upon the strong, ascending gloriously 
The steps of honor, bent to draw them back, 
Involving oft the brightness of their path. 
In mists his breath had raised. Whene'er he heaxi^ 
As oft he did, of joy and happiness. 
And great prosperity, and rising worth, 
*Twas like a wave of wormwood o'er his soul 
Rolling its bitterness. His joy was wo. 
The wo of others. When, irom wealth to waat» 
Prom praises to reproach, from peace to strife, 
from mirth to tears, he saw a brother fall, 



BOOK vin. 376 

Or Virtue make a slip, — his dreams were sweet. 

But chief with Slander, daughter of his own, 

He took unliallowed pleasvire. When she talked. 

And with her filthy lips defiled the best, 

His ear irew near ; with wide attention gaped 

His mouth ; his eye, well pleased, as eager gazed 

As glutton, when the dish he most desired 

Was placed before him ; and a horrid mirth, 

At intervals, with laughter shook his sides. 

The critic, too, who, for a bit of bread, 

In book that fell aside before the irJc 

Was dry, poured forth excessive nonsense, gave 

Him much delight. The critics, — some, but few,— 

Were worthy men, and earned renown which had 

Immortal roots ; but most were weak and vile. 

And, as a cloudy swarm of summer flies, 

With angry hum and slender lance, beset 

The sides of some huge animal ; so did 

They buzz about the Ulustriovis man, and fain. 

With his immortal honor, down the stream 

Of fame would have descended ; but, alas ! 

The hand of Time drove them away. They were^ 

Indeed, a simple race of men, who had 

One only art, which taught them still to say, 

\\Tiate'er was done might have been better done; 

And with this art, not ill to learn, they made 

A shift to live. But, sometimes too, beneath 

The dust they raised, was worth a while obscured ; 

And then did Envj^ prophesy and laugh. 

O Envy ! hide thy bosom, hide it deep. 

A thousand snakes, with black, envenomed mouth)* 

Nest there, and hiss, and feed through all thy heart 

Such one I saw, here interposing, said 
The new arrived in that dark den of shame. 
Whom who hath seen shall never wish to see 



176 THE COXJIISE OP TIME. 

Again. JtJefore him, in the infernal gloom. 
That omnipresent shape of Virtue stood 
On which he ever threw his eye ; and, like 
A cinder that had life and feeling, seemed 
His face, with inward pining, to be what 
He could not be. As being that had bximed 
Continually, in slow-consuming fire, — 
Half an eternity, and was to bum 
For evermore, he looked. Oh ! sight to be 
Forgotten ! thought too horrible to think ! 

But say, believing in such wo to come, 
Such dreadful certainty of endless pain, 
Coxild beings of forecasting mould, as thou 
Entitlest men, deliberately walk on, 
TJnscared, and overleap their own belief 
Into the lake of ever-biiming fire ? 

Thy tone of asking seems to make reply, 
And rightly seems : They did not so believe. 
Not one of all thou sawst lament and wail 
In Tophit, perfectly believed the word 
Of God, else none had thither gone. Absurd, 
To think that beings, made with reason, formed 
To calculate, compare, choose, and reject, 
By nature taught, and self, and every sense. 
To choose the good, and pass the evil by, 
Covud, with full credence of a time to come, 
"When all the wicked should be really damned. 
And cast beyond the sphere of light and love. 
Have persevered in sin ! Too foolish this 
For folly in its prime. Can aught that thinks 
And wills choose certain evil, and reject 
Good, in his heart believing he does so ? 
Could man choose pain, instead of endless joy } 
"Uad supposition, thougl . maintained by som^i 



is==-r=2==.==r^- 



377 



Of honest mind. Behold a man condemned f 
Either he ne'er iiiqxiired, and therefore he 
Could not believe ; or, else, he carelessly 
Inquired, and something other than the word 
Of God received into his cheated faith ; 
And therefore he did not believe, but down 
To hell descended, leaning on a lie. 

Faith was bewildered much by men who meant 
To make it clear, so simple in itself, 
A thought so rudimental and so plain, 
That none by comment covild it plainer make. 
All faith was one. In object, not in kind, 
Tlie difference lay. The faith that saved a sotd. 
And that which in the common truth believed. 
In essence, were the same. Hear, then, what faith. 
True, Christian faith, which brought salvation, was i 
Behef in aU that God revealed to men ; 
Observe, in all that God revealed to men. 
In all he promised, threatened, commanded, said. 
Without exception, and without a doubt. 
Who thus beheved, being by the Spirit touched. 
As naturally the frmts of faith produced, 
Truth, temperance, meekness, holiness, and love, 
As human eye from darkness sought the light. 
How could he else ? If he, who had firm faith 
The morrow's sun should rise, ordered affairs 
Accordingly ; if he, who had firm faith 
That spring, and summer, and autumnal days, 
Should pass away, and winter really come, 
Prepared accordingly ; if he, who saw 
A bolt of death approaching, turned aside 
And let it pass ; — as surely did the man, 
Who verily believed the word of God, 
Though erring whiles, its general laws obey. 
Turn back from hell, and take the way to heaven. 
32* 



378 THE COUUSE OF TIME. 

That faith was necessary, some alleged. 
Unreined and micontrollablo by will. 
Invention savoring much of hell ! Indeed, 
It was the master-stroke of wickedness, 
Last effort of Abaddon's council ;lark, 
To make man think himself a slave to fate, 
And, worst of all, a slave to fate in faith, 
For thus 'twas reasoned then : From faith alone. 
And from opinion, springs all action ; hence, 
K faith's compelled, so is all action too : 
But deeds compelled are not accountable ; j 

So man is not amenable to God. 

Argtdng that brought suth monstrous birth, though 
good 
It seemed, must have been tiilse. Most false it was. 
And by the book of God eondeiuned, throughout. 
We freely o-w-n, that truth, \\hen set before 
The mind, with perfect evivlcnce, compelled 
BeUef ; but error lacked .such witness, still: 
And none, who now lament in moral night. 
The word of God refused on evidence 
That might not have been set aside as false. 
To reason, try, choose, and reject, was free. 
Hence God, by faith, acquitted, or condemned; 
Hence righteous men, with liberty of wHl, 
Believed ; and hence tliou sawst in Erebus 
The ^^icked, who as freely disbelieved 
What alse had led them to the kmd of life. 



r 



COURSE OF TIME. 

BOOK DL. 



ANALYSIS Of BOOK DL 



The Book opens with an apostrophe to Relisrion. The Bard r» 
sumes his narrative, and, continuing the description of the A»- 
•embly collected for Jndgrmeni. jjariicularizes several classes 
of the Redeemed. While he mentions ihe classes, he pouiu 
them out as they appear on the heavenly summits rejoicing. 

First among the holy shone the taithful minister of God. The 
religious philosopher appeared in micommon glory. The right- 
eous governor and micornipted statesman, the man of active 
benevolence, and the Chnsuaii poet, were each conspicuous. 
None of the Redeemed were obscure, and multitudes were il- 
lustrious that had no name on earih. 

The Bard mentions ilie effect proiluced on the minds of liie sis- 
sembled multitudes by the absolute certainties ol their situa- 
tion, by the correct judgments ihey now formed, the josl im- 
pressions they had of themselves, and the predictions they saw 
tul filled. 

Buddenly a host of Angels appear, and the vast multitude of good 
and bad are separated to right and leA in itie final parting ; 
the righteous being gathered with joy beneath a canopy of 
golden beams; the wicked lx)und mideradark and ihundermg 
cloud of wTaih, where stood also Satan and his host, waiiing 
for Judgment and ihs vengeance due to his rebellion in heaven, 
and his stratagems 5n earth. Thus separated, the Redeemed 
and the Reprol^aie stand expecting the Judge, and reading-, 
apon either side of a b.'tghi arch bending iugh teiween thecv 
a ihrilling inscripuoo. 



L^ 



THB 

COURSE OF TIME. 

BOOK IX. 

Faibest of those that left the calm of hear en, 
And ventured down to man, with words of j eace, 
Daughter of Grace ! known by whatever name, 
Religion, Virtue, Piety, or Love 
Of Holiness, the day of thy reward 
Was come. Ah ! thou wast long despised, despisea 
By those thou wooedst from death to endless life. 
Modest and meek, in garments white as those 
That seraphs wear, and countenance as mild 
As Mercy looking on Repentance' tear ; 
With eye of ptirity, now darted up 
To God's eternal throne, now humbly bent 
Upon thyself^ and, weeping down thy cheek. 
That glowed with universal love immense, 
A tear, pure as the dews that faU in heaven ; 
In thy left hand, the olive branch, and in 
Thy right, the crown of immortality ; — 
With noiseless foot, thou walkedst the vales of earth. 
Beseeching men, from age to age, to turn 
From utter death, to turn from wo to bliss ; 
Beseeching evermore, and evermore 
Despised — not evermore despised, not now, 
Not at the day of doom ; most lovely then. 
Most honorable, thou appeared, and most 
To be desired. The guilty neard the song 



582 TilE COURSE OF TIME. 

Of thy redeemed, how loud ! and saw thy face, 
How fair ! Alas ! it was too late ! the hour 
Of making friends was passed, thy favor then 
Might not be sought ; but recollection, sad 
And accurate, as miser counting o'er 
And o'er again the sum he must lay out, 
Distinctly in the wicked's ear rehearsed 

Each opportunity despised and lost, 

While on them gleamed thy holy look, that like 

A fiery torrent went into their souls. 

The day of thy reward was come, the day 

Of great remuneration to thy Mends, 

To those, known by whatever name, who sought. 

In every place, in every time, to do 

Unfeignedly their Maker's will, revealed, 
i Or gathered else from nature's school ; well pleased 

j With God's applause alone, that, like a stream 

Of sweetest melody, at stUl of night 

By wanderer heard, in their most secret ear 

For ever whispered. Peace ; and, as a string 

Of kindred tone awoke, their inmost soul 
I Responsive answered, Peace ; inquiring still 

And searching, night and day, to know their duty, j 

I When known, with undisputing trust, with love 

Unquenchable, with zeal, by reason's lamp I 

Inflamed, — performing ; and to Him, by whose 

Profound, all- calculating skill alone. 

Results — results even of the slightest act, 

Are fully grasped, with unsuspicious faith. 

All consequences leaving ; to abound, 

Or want, alike prepared ; who knew to be 

Exalted how, and how to be abased ; 

How best to live, and how to die when asked. 

Their prayers sincere, their alms in secret done. 

Their fightings with themselves, their abstinence 

From pleasure, though by mortal eye unseen. 



Their hearts of resignation to the will 
Of Heaven, their patient bearing of reproach 
And shame, their charity, and faith, and hope,— 
Thou didst remember, and in full repaid. 
No bankrupt thou, who at the bargained hour 
Of payment due, sent to his creditors 
A tale of losses and mischances, long. 
Ensured by God himself, and from the stores 
And treastires of his wealth, at will supplied,— 
-Religion, thou alone, of all that men, 
On earth, gave credit, to be reimbursed 
On the other side the grave, didst keep thy word. 
Thy day, and all thy promises fulfilled. 

As in the mind, rich with unborrowed wealth, 
Where multitudes of thoughts for utterance strire^ 
And all so fair, that each seems worthy first 
To enter on the tongue, and from the Kps 
Have passage forth, — selection hesitates 
Perplexed, and loses time, anxious, since all 
Cannot be taken, to take the best ; and yet 
Afraid, lest what he left be worthier still ; 
And grieving much, where all so goodly look« 
To leave rejected one, or in the rear 
Let any be obscured : so did the bard. 
Though not unskilled, as on that multitude 
Of men who once awoke to judgment, he 
Threw back reflection, hesitating pause. 
For as his harp, in tone severe, had sting 
What figure the most famous sinners made. 
When from the grave they rose tmmasked ; so dia 
He wish to character the good ; but yet. 
Among so many, glorious all, all worth 
Immortal fame, with whom begin, with whoon 
To end, was difficult to choose ; and long 
His auditors, upon the tiptoe raised 



384 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Of expectation, might have kept, had not 
His eye — for so it is in heaven, that what 
Is needed always is at hand — beheld 
That moment, on a mountain near the throne 
Of God, the most renowned of the redeemed, 
Rejoicing : nor who first, who most, to praise. 
Debated more ; but thus, with sweeter note, 
Well pleased to sing, with highest eulogy. 
And first, whom God applauded most, — began. 

With patient ear, thou now hast heard, — though 
whiles. 
Aside digressing, ancient feeling turned 
My lyre, — what shame the wicked had, that day, 
WTiat wailing, what remorse ; so hear, in brief. 
How bold the righteous stood, the men redeemed, 
How fair in virtue, and in hope how glad ! 
And first among the holy shone, as best 
Became, the faithful minister of God. 

See where he walks on yonder moiint that lifts 
Its summit high, on the right hand of bliss, 
Sublime in glory, talking iivith his peers 
Of the incarnate Saviour's love, and passed 
Affliction lost in present joy ! See how 
His face with heavenly ardor glows, and how 
His hand, enraptured, strikes the golden lyre ! 
As now, conversing of the Lamb, once slain, 
lie speaks ; and now, from vines that never hear 
Of winter, but in monthly harvest yield 
Their fruit abtmdantly, he plucks the grapes 
Of life ! But what he was on earth it most 
Behoves to say. Elect by God himself, 
Anointed by the Holy Ghost, and set 
Apart to the great work of -saving men ; 
Instructed fully in the will dvine, 



3M 



i Supplied -svith grace in store, as need might ask, 

j And with the stiuiip aiid signature of heaven, 

j Truth, mercy, patience, holiness, and love. 

j Accredited ; — he was a man, by God, 

j The Lord, commissioned to make known to men 

! The eternal counsels ; in his Master's name, 

I To treat with them of evcrlastimr thu)";s, 

I Of life, death, bliss, and wo ; to otfer tenns 

Of pardon, grace, and peace, to the rebelled ; 
To teach the ignorant soul, to cheer the sad ; 
I To bind, to loose, with all authority, 

I To give the feeble strength, the hopeless hope. 

I To help the halting, and to lead the blind; 

To warn the careless, heal the sick of heart, 
Arouse the indolent, and on the proud 
And obstinate offender to denounce 
The wTath of God. All other men, what name 
Soe'er they bore, whatever office held. 
If lawful held, — the magistrate supreme, 
Or else subordinate, were chosen bj- men. 
Their fellows, and from men derived their power 
And were accountable for all they did, 
To men ; but he, alone, Ms office held 
Immediat-ely from God, from God received 
Authority, and was to none but God 
Amenable. The ciders of the church. 
Indeed, upon him laid their hands, and set 
Him visibly apart to preach the word 
Of life ; but this was merely outward rite. 
And decent ceremonial, performed 
On all alike, and oft, as thou hast heard, 
Performed on those God never sent ; his call. 
His co)isecration, his anointing, all 
Were inward, in the conscience heard and felt. 
Thus, by Jehovah chosen, and ordained 
To take into his charge the souls of men, 
33 



1 



386 THE comsE of time. 

Ana for his trust to answer at the day 

Of judgment, — great plenipotent of heaven, 

And representative of God on earth, — 

Fearless of men and de^-ils ; unabashed 

By sin enthroned, or mockery of a prince, 

Unawed by armed legions, imseduced 

Uy otfered bribes, burning with love to souls 

Unv^uenchable, and mindful still of his 

Great charge and vast responsibility ;— 

High in the temple of the li%-ing God, 

He stood, amidst the people, and declared 

Aloud the truth, the whole revealed truth. 

Ready to seal it with his blood. Divine 

Resemblance most complete ! -v^-ith mercy now 

And love, his face, illumed, shone gloriously ; 

And frowning now indignantly, it seemed 

As if offended Justice, from his eye, 

Streamed forth vindictive wrath ! Men heard, 

alarmed; 
The uncircumcised infidel believed ; 
Light-thoughted Mirtl- ^^ew serious, and wept ; 
The laugh profane sunk in a sigh of deep 
Repentance ; the blasphemer, kneeling, praj ?d. 
And, prostrate in the dust, for mercy called ; 
And cursed, old, forsaken sinners gnashed 
Their teeth, as if their hour had been arrivecL 
Such was his calling, his commission such. 
Yet he was htunble, kind, forgiving, meek. 
Easy to be entreated, gracious, mild ; 
And, Avith all patience and affection, taught. 
Rebuked, persuaded, solaced, counselled, warned. 
In fervent style and manner. Xeedy, poor, 
And d}-ing men, like music, heard his feet 
Approach their beds ; and guilty -wretches took 
Xew hope, and in his prayers wept and smileJ, 
And blpssed him, as they died forgiven ; ana ^ 



BOOK IX. 387 

Saw iri his face contentment, in his life. 

The path to glory and perj^jctual joy. 

Deep-learned in the philosophy of heaven, 

H^ seaKjhed the causes out of good and ill. 

Profoundly calculating their effects 

Far past the bounds of Time ; and balancingj 

In the arithmetic of future things, 

The loss and profit of the soul to all 

Etv rnity. A skilful workman he 

In vjod's great moral vineyard : what to prune 

With cautious hand he knew, what to uproot ; 

\Vliat were mere weeds, and what celestial plants, 

"SMiich had vmfading vigor in them, knew ; 

Nor knew alone, but watched them night and day, 

And reared and nourished them, till fit to be 

Transplanted to the paradise below. 

Oh ! who can speak his praise r great, humble man I 
He in the current of destruction stood, 
And warned the sinner of his wo ; led on 
Immanuel's members in the e^il day ; 
And, -with the everlasting arms embraced 
Himself around, stood in the dreadful front 
Of battle, high, and waired victoriously 
With death and hell. And now was come his rest, 
His triumph day. Hlustrious like a sun, 
In that assembly, he, shining from far, 
Most excellent in glory, stood assured. 
Waiting the promised crown, the promised throne, 
rhe welcome and approval of his Lord. 
Xor one alone, but many — prophets, priests, 
Apostles, great reformers, all that served 
Messiah faitlifully, like stars appeared 
Of fairest beam ; and ro\md them gathered, clad 
In white, the vouchers of their ministry — 
The Hock their care had nourished, fed, and saved. 



388 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Nor yet in common glory blazing, stood 
The true philosopher, decided friend 
Of truth and man. Determined foe of all 
Deception, calm, collected, patient, wise. 
And humble, undeceived by outward shape 
Of things, by fashion's revelry uncharmed. 
By honor unbewitched, — he left the chase 
Of vanity, and all the quackeries 
Of life, to fools and heroes, or whoe'er 
Desired them ; and with reason, much despised. 
Traduced, yet heavenly reason, to the shade 
Retired — retired, but not to dream, or build 
Of ghostly fancies, seen in the deep noon 
Of sleep, ill-balanced theories ; retired, 
But did not leave mankind ; in pity, not 
In wrath, retired ; and still, though distant, kept 
His eye on men ; at proper angle took 
His stand to see them better, and, beyond 
The clamor which the bells of folly made, 
That most had hung about them, to consult 
With nature, hoAV their madness might be cureu, 
And how their true substantial comforts might 
Be multiplied. Religious man ! what God 
By prophets, priests, evangelists, revealed 
Of sacred truth, he thankfully received, 
And, by its light directed, went in search 
Of more. Before him, darkness fled ; and aU 
The goblin tribe, that hung upon the breasts 
Of Night, and haunted still the moral gloom 
With shapeless forms, and blue, infernal lights. 
And indistinct, and devilish whisperings, 
That the miseducated fancies vexed 
Of superstitious men, — at his approach, 
Dispersed, invisible. ^Vhere'e^ he went, 
This lesson still he taught, To fear no ill 
But sin, no being but Abnighty God. 



389 



AJl-compiDhencling sage ! too hard alono 

For him was man's salvation ; all besides, 

Of use or comfort, that distinction made 

Between the desperate savage, scarcely raised 

Above the beast whose flesh he ate, undressed, 

And the most polished of the human race. 

Was product of his persevering search. 

Religion owed him much, as from the false 

She suffered much ; for still his main design^ 

In all his contemplations, was to trace 

The wisdom, providence, and love of God, 

And to his fellows, less observant, show 

Them forth. From prejudice redeemed, A\ith all 

His passions still, above the common world, 

Sublime in reason and in aim sublime, 

He sat, and on the marvellous works of God 

Sedately thought ; now glancing up his eye, 

Intelligent, through all the starry dance, 

And penetrating now the deep remote 

Of central causes in the womb opaque 

Of matter hid ; now with inspection nice, 

Entering the mystic labjTrinths of the mind, 

AVhere thought, of notice ever shy, beliind 

Thought, disappearing, still retired ; and still. 

Thought meeting thought, and thought awakening 

thought. 
And mingling still with thought in endless maze, — 
Be^^ildered observation ; now, with eye 
Yet more severely purged, looking far down 
Lito the heart, where passion wove a web 
Of thousand thousand tlireads, in grain and hue 
All different ; then, upward venturing whiles, 
But reverently, and in his hand, the light 
Revealed, near the eternal Throne, he gazed^ 
Philosophizing less than worshipping. 
Most truly great ! his intellectual strength 
33* 



^_J 



39C THE COURSE OP TIME. 

And knowledge vast, to men of lesser mind, 
Seemed infinite ; yet, from his high pursuits. 
And reasonings most profovmd, he still returned 
Home, with an humbler and a warmer heart • 
And none so lowly bowed before his God, 
As none so well His awful majesty 
And goodness comprehended ; or so well 
His OAvn dependency and weakness knew. 

How glorious now, with vision purified 
At the Essential Truth, entirely free 
From error, he, investigating still, — 
For knowledge is not found, unsought, in heaven,- 
From world to world, at pleasure, roves, on wing 
Of golden ray upborne ; or, at the feet 
Of heaven's most ancient sages, sitting, hears 
New wonders of the wondrous works of God ! 

Illustrious, too, that morning, stood the man 
Exalted by the people, to the throne 
Of government, established on the base 
Of justice, liberty, and equal right ; 
Who, in his countenance sublime, expressed 
A nation's majesty, and yet was meek 
And humble ; and in royal palace gave 
Example to the meanest, of the fear 
Of God, and all integrity of life 
And manners ; who, august, yet lowly ; who, 
Severe, yet gracious ; in his very heart. 
Detesting all oppression, all intent 
Of private aggrandizement ; and, the first 
In every public duty, held the scales 
Of justice, and as the law, which reigned in him, 
Commanded, gave rewar;^s ; or, with the edge 
Vindictive, smote, now light, now heai'Dy, 
Ace urding: to the stature of the crime. 



BOOK IX. 391 

Conspicuous like an oak of healthiest bough. 

Deep-rooted ui his country's love, he stood. 

And gave his hand to virtue, helping up 

The honest man to honor and rcnoAvn ; 

And, with the look which goodness wears in wrath. 

Withering the very blood of Knavery, 

And from his presence driving far, ashamed. 



Nor less remarkable, among the blessed. 
Appeared the man, who, in the senate-house. 
Watchful, unhii-ed, vinbribed, and uncorrupt. 
And party only to the common weal, 
In virtue's awful rage, pleaded for right, 
With truth so clear, with argument so strong. 
With action so sincere, and tone so loud 
And deep, as made the despot quake behind 
His adamantine gates, and every joint, 
In terror, smite his fellow-joint relaxed ; 
Or, marching to the field, in burnished steel. 
While, frowning on his brow, tremendous hung 
The wrath of a whole people, long provoked,— 
Mustered the stormy -VNongs of war, in day 
Of dreadful deeds ; and led the battle on, 
WTien Liberty, s\vift as the fire^ of heaven, 
fn fury rode, with all her hosts, and threw 
The tyrant down, or drove invasion back. 
Ulustrious he — illustrious all appeared, 
Who ruled supreme in righteousness ; or held 
Inferior place, in steadfast rectitude 
Of soul. Peculiarly severe had been 
The nurture of their youth, their knowledge great, 
Great was their wisdom, great their cares, and 
Their self-denial, and their service done 
To God and man ; and great was their reward, 
^t land, proportioned to their worthy deeds. 



592 TUE COUR'^K OF TIMK. 

Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal Harp ! 
Breathe numbers warm M-ith love, while I reheaise- 
Delighted theme, resembling most the songs 
AVhich, day and night, are sung before the Lamb ! ■ 
Thy praise, O Charity ! thy labors most 
Divine ; thy sympathy with sighs, and tears. 
And groans ; thy great, thy god- like wish, to heal 
All misery, all fortune's wounds, and make 
The soul of every living thing rejoice. 
O thou wast needed much in days of Time ! 
No virtue, half so much ! — None half so fair ! 
To all the rest, howe\'er fine, thou gavest 
A finishing and polish, without which 
No man e'er entered heaven. Let me record 
His praise, the man of great benevolence. 
Who pressed thee closely to his glowing heart. 
And to thy gentle bidding made his feet 
Swift minister. Of all mankind, his soul 
Was most in harmony with heaven ; as one 
Sole family of brothei-s, sisters, friends, 
One in their origin, one in their rights 
To all the common gifts of providence, 
And in their hopes, their joys, and sorrows oai^ 
He viewed the universal hiunan race. 
He needed not a law of state, to force 
Grudging submission to the law of God. 
The law of love was in his heart, alive ; 
What he possessed, he counted not his own ; 
But, like a faithful steward in a house 
Of public alms, what freely he received 
He freely gave, distributing to all 
The helpless the last mite beyond his own 
Temperate support, and reckoning still the gift 
But justice, due to want ; and so it was. 
Although the world, with compliment not ili 
Applied, adorned it with a fairer name. 



39& 



Nor did he wail till to his door the voice 

Of supplication came, but -svent abroad, 

With foot as silent as the starry dews, 

In search of misery that pined imseen, 

And would not ask. And who can tell what sights 

He saw ! what groans he heard, in that cold world 

Below ! where Sin, in league with gloomy Death, 

Marched daily through the length and breadth of all 

The land, wasting at will, and making earth, 

Fair earth ! a lazar-house, a dungeon dark, 

\\Tiere Disappointment fed on ruined Hope ; 

"WTiere Guilt, worn out, leaned on the triple edge 

Of want, remorse, despair ; where Cruelty 

Reached forth a cup of wormwood to the lips 

Of Sorrow, that to deeper Sorrow wailed ; 

Where Mockery, and Disease, and Poverty 

Met miserable Age, erewliile sore bent 

With his own burden ; where the arro\^'y winds 

Of winter pierced the naked orphan babe. 

And chilled the mother's heart, who had no home ; 

And where, alas ! in mid- time of his day. 

The honest man, robbed by some villain's hand. 

Or with long sickness pale, and paler yet 

With want and hunger, oft drank bitter draughts 

Of his own tears, and had no bread to eat. 

Oh ! who can tell what sights he saw, what shapes 

Of wTCtchedness ! or who describe what smiles 

Of gratitude illumined the face of wo, 

While from his hand he gave the bounty forth ! 

As when the Sun, to Cancer wheeling back, 

Returned from Capricorn, and showed the north, 

That long had lain in cold and cheerless night, 

His beamy countenance ; all nature then 

Rejoiced together glad ; the flower looked up 

And smiled ; the forest, from his locks, shook off 

The hoary frosts, and clapped liis hands ; the birds 



394 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Awoke, and, siiiging, rose to meet tlie day ; 

And from his hollow den, where many months 

He slumbered sad in darkness, blithe and light 

Of heart the savage sprung, and saw again 

His mountains shine, and with new songs of lore 

Allured the virgin's ear : so did the house, 

The prison-house of guilt, and all the abodes 

Of vmprovided helplessness, revive. 

As on them looked the sunny messenger 

Of Charity. By angels tended still, 

That marked his deeds, and wrote them in a book 

Of God's remembrance ; careless he to be 

Observed of men, or have each mite bestowed 

Recorded pTinctually, with name and place, 

In every bill of news. Pleased to do good, 

He gave, and sought no more, nor questioned much^ 

Nor reasoned, who deserved ; for well he knew 

The face of need. Ah me ! who could mistake.' 

The shame to ask, the want that urged within, 

Composed a look so perfectly distinct 

From all else human, and withal so fall 

Of misery, that none could pass, untouched, 

And be a Christian, or thereafter claim, 

In any form, the name or rights of man, 

Or, at the day of judgment, lift his eye ; 

While he, in uame of Christ, who gave the poor 

A cup of water, or a bit of bread. 

Impatient for his advent, waiting stood. 

Glowing in robes of love and holiness, 

Heaven's fairest dress ! and rotm.d him ranged, in 

white, 
A thousand witnesses appeared, prepared 
To tell his gracious deeds before the Throne. 

Nor imrenowned among the most renowned, 
Nor 'moDg the fairest unadmired, that mom, 



S9f 



WTicn highest fame was proof of highest worth. 

Distinguished stood the bard ; not he, who sold 

The incommunicable, heavenly gift. 

To Folly, and with lyre of perfect tone, 

Prepared by God himself, for hoUest praise, — 

Vilest of traitors ! most dishonest man ! — 

Sat by the door of Ruin, and made there 

A melody so sweet, and in the mouth 

Of drunkenness and debauch, that else had croaked 

In natural discordance jarring harsh, 

Put so divine a song, that many turned 

Aside, and entered in undone, and thought, 

Meanwhile, it was the gate of heaven, so like 

An angel's voice the music seemed ; nor he. 

Who, whining grievously of damsel coy. 

Or blaming fortune, that would nothing give 

For doing naught, in indolent lament 

Unprofitable, passed his piteous days, 

Making himself the hero of his tale. 

Deserving ill the poet's name : but he. 

The bard, by God's own hand anointed, who. 

To Virtue's all- delighting harmony, 

His numbers tuned : who, from the fount of truth. 

Poured melody, and beauty poured, and love. 

In holy stream, into the human heart ; 

And, from the height of lofty argument, 

Who "justified the ways of God to man," 

And sung what stUl he sings, approved in heaven 

Though now with bolder note, above the damp 

Terrestrial, which the pure celestial fire 

Cooled, and restrained in part his flaming wing 

Pliilosophy was deemed of deeper thought. 
And judgment more severe, than Poetry ; 
To fable, she, and fancy, more inclined. 
Ajid yet, if Fancy, as was understood. 



1"^ 

I 


1 


396 THE COURSE OF TIME. f 

1 




"Was of creative nature, or of power, ! 




With self- wrought stuff, to build a tabric up [ 




To mortal \'ision wonderful and strange, , j 




Philosophy, the theoretic, claimed, 




Undoubtedly, the first and highest place 




In Fancy's favor. Her material souls. 


! 


Her chance, her atoms shaped alike, her white 


t| 


Proved black, her universal nothing, all ; ; 




And all her wondrous systems, how the mind j 




"With matter met ; how man was free, and yet 




All pre-ordained ; how evil first began ; 




And chief her speculations, soaring how, 




Of the eternal, uncreated Mind, 




Which left all reason infinitely far 




Behind — surprising feat of theory ! — 




Were pure creation of her own, webs wove j 




Of gossamer in Fancy's lightest loom. j 




And nowhere, on the list of being made | 




By God recorded : but her look, meanwhile, j 




Was grave and studioris ; and many thought ; 




She reasoned deeply, when she wildly raved. 




The true, legitimate, anointed bard, 




Whose song through ages poured its melody, j 




Was most severely thoughtful, most minute j 




And accurate of observation, most j 




Familiarly acquainted with all modes i 




And phases of existence. True, no doubt, 




He had originally drunk, from out 




The fount of life and love, a double draught, 




That gave whatever he touched a double life 




But this was mere desire at first, and power j 




Devoid of means to work by ; need was still 




Of persevering, quick, inspective mood | 




Of mind, of faithful memory, vastly stored. 




From imiversal being's ample field, 

1 

i 

■^ -^ — '• ■ ' ^ — : 



39 



With knowledge ; and a judgment, sound ar dcle^u* 

Well disciplined m nature's rules of taste ; 

Discerning to select, arrange, combine, 

From infinite variety, and still 

To nature true ; and guide withal, hard task. 

The sacred, living impetus divine, 

Discreetly through the harmony of song. 

Completed tlius, the poet sung ; and age 

To age, enraptured, heard his measures flow ; 

Enraptured, for he poured the very fac 

And marrow of existence, through his verse, 

And gave the soul, that else, in sclhsh cold, 

Un warmed by kindred interest, hud lain, 

A roomy life, a glowing relish high, 

A sweet, expansive brotherhood of being — 

Joy answering joy, and sigli responding sigh. 

Through all the fibres of the social heart. 

Observant, sympathetic, sound of head, 

Upon the ocean vast of human thought, 

With passion rough and stormy, venturing out 

Even as the living billows roiled, he thi-ew 

His numbers over them, seized as they were. 

And to perpetual ages left them fixed. 

To each, a min-or of itself displayed ; 

Despair for ever loAvering dark on Sin, 

And Happiness on Virtue smiHng fair. 

He was a minister of fame, and gave 
ro whom he would renown ; nor missed himself— 
Although despising much the idiot roar 
Of popular applause, that sudden, oft. 
Unnaturally turning, whom it nursed 
Itself devoured — the lasting fame, the praise 
Of God and holy men, to excellence given. 
Vet less he sought Ms own renown, than wished 
To have the eternal images of truth 
34 



3y» THE COUKSE OF TIMB. 

And beauty, pictured in his verse, admired. 

Twas these, taking immortal shape and form 

Beneath his eye, that charmed his midnight wttch« 

And oft his so^A with awful transports shook 

Of happiness, unfelt by other men. 

This was that spell, that sorcery, which bound • 

The poet to the lyre, and would not let 

Him go ; that hidden mystery of joy. 

Which made him sing in sjjite of fortune's worst, 

And was, at once, both motive and reward. 

Nor now among the choral harps, in this 
The native clime of song, are those unknown, 
With higher note ascending, who, below, 
In holy ardor, aimed at lofty strains. 
True fame is never lost : many, whose names 
Were honored much on earth, are famous here 
For poetry, and, with archangel harps. 
Hold no unequal rivalry in song ; 
Leading the choirs of heaven, in numbers high, 
In niunbers ever sweet and ever new. 

Behold them yonder, where the river pure 
Flows warbling down before the throne of God ; 
And, shading on each side, the tree of life 
Spreads its unfading bouglis ! — See how they shin^ 
In garments white, quaffing deep draughts of love^ 
And harping on their harps, new harmonies 
Preparing for the ear of God, Most High ! 

But why should I, of individual worth, 
Of individual glory, longer sing ? 
No true believer was, that day, obscure ; 
No holy soul but had enough of joy ; 
No pious wish without its full reward. 
Who in the Father and the Son beheved. 



39Q 



With faith that \NTOught by loec to holy deeds, 
And purified the heart, none ^.rembled there, 
Nor had by earthly guise his ranlc concealed ; 
Whether, unkno\vn, he tilled the ground remotei 
Observant of the seasons, and adored 
God in the promise, yearly verified, 
Of seed-time, harvest, sximmer, winter, day 
And night, returning duly at the time 
Appointed ; or, on the shadowy mountain side, 
Worshipped at dewy eve, watching his flocks ; 
Or, trading, saw the wonders of the deep. 
And as the needle to the starry' Pole 
Turned constantly, so he his heart to God ; 
Or else, in servitude severe, was taught 
To break the bonds of sin ; or, begging, learned 
To trust the Pro%'idence that fed the raven. 
And clothed the lily with her annual gown. 



Most numerous, indeed, among the saved, 
And many, too, not least illustrious, shone 
The men who had no name on earth. Eclipsed 
By lo\\'ly circumstance, they lived unknowTi, 
Like stream that in the desert warbles clear. 
Still n\irsing, as it goes, the herb and flower. 
Though never seen • or like the star, retired 
In solitudes of ether, far beyond 
All sight, not of essential splendor less. 
Though shining unobserved. None saw their pure 
Devotion, none their tears, their faith, and love, 
^Vhich burned within them, both to God and man,— 
None saw but God. He, in his bottle, all 
Their tears preserved, and every holy \^'ish 
Wrote in his book ; and, not as they had done, . 
But as they wished with all their heart to do, 
Arraved them now in glory, and displayed, — 



400 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

No longei hid by coarse, uncourtly garb, — 
In lustre equal to their inward worth. 

Man's time was passed, and his eternity 
Begun. No fear remained of change. The youtl. 
Who, in the glowing mom of vigorous life, 
High-reaching after great religious deeds, 
Was suddenly cut off, with all his hopes 
In siinny bloom, and unaccomplished left 
His withered aims, — saw everlasting days. 
Before him, dawning, rise, in which to achieve 
All glorious things, and get himself the name 
That jealous Death too soon forbade on earth. 

Old things had passed away, and all was new ; 
And yet, of all the new-begun, npught so 
ProdigioTis difference made, in the affairs 
And thoughts of every man, as certainty. 
For doubt, all doubt, was gone, o^ every kind ; 
Doubt that erewhile, beneath the lowest base 
Of mortal reasonings, deepest laid, crept in, 
And made the strongest, best cemented towers 
Of human workmanship, so weakly shake, 
And to their lofty tops so waver still. 
That those who buUt Lhem, feared their sudden fall. 
But doubt, all doubt, was passed ; and, in its places 
To every thought that in the heart of man 
Was present, now had come an absolute, 
Unquestionable certainty, wliich gave 
To each decision of the mind immense 
Importance, raising to its proper height 
The sequent tide of passion, whether joy 
Or grief. The good man knew, in very truth, 
That he was saved to all eternity. 
And feared no more ; the bad had proof complete, 
That he was damned for ever : and believed 



40, 



Entirely, that on every wicked sovCL 

Anguish shovdd come, and ^vrath, and utter wo. 

Knowledge was much increased, but -wisdom more 
The film of Time, that still before the sight 
Of mortal vision danced, and led the best 
Astray, pursuing tmsubstantial dreams, 
Had dropped from every eye. Men saw that they 
Had vexed themselves in vain, to understand 
What now no hope to understand remained ; 
ITiat they had often coxmted cvU good. 
And good for ill ; laughed when they should have 

wept. 
And wept, forlorn, when God intended mirth. 
But what, of all their foUies passed, surprised 
Them most, and seemed most totally insane 
And unaccountable, was value set 
On objects of a day, was serious grief 
Or joy for loss or gain of mortal things. 
So utterly impossible it seemed, 
^\^^en men their proper interests saw, that aught 
Of terminable kind, that aught, which e'er 
Could die, or cease to be, however named, 
Should make a human soul — a legal heir 
Of everlasting years — rejoice or weep. 
In earnest mood ; for nothing now seemed worth 
A thought, but had eternal bearing in't. 

Much truth had been assented to in Time, 
\\niuch never, till this day, had made a due 
Impression on the heart. Take one example. 
Early from heaven it was revealed, and oft 
Repeated in the world, from pulpits preached. 
And penned and read in holy books, that God 
Respected not the persons of mankind. 
Had this been truly credited and felt, 
34* 



402 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

The king, in purple robe, had owned, indeed, 

The beggar for Ms brother ; pride of rank 

And office thawed into paternal love ; 

Oppression feared the day of equal rights, 

Predicted ; covetous extortion kept 

In mind the hour of reckoning, soon to come ; 

And bribed injustice thought of being judged, 

^Vhen he should stand, on equal foot, beside 

The man he wronged, and surely — nay, 'tis true. 

Most true, beyond all whispering of doubt, 

That he, who lifted up the recking scourge, 

Dripping with gore from the slave's back, before 

He struck again, had paused, and seriously 

Of that tribunal thought, where God himself 

Should look him in the face, and ask in wrath, 

•' Why didst thou this r Man ! was he not thy 

brother, 
Bone of thy bone, and flesh and blood of thine ? " 
But, ah ! this truth, by heaven and reason taught. 
Was never fully credited on earth. 
The titled, flattered, lofty men of power. 
Whose wealth bought ver-hcts of applause for deeas 
Of wickedness, could ne'er believe the time 
Should truly come when judgment should procp'^d 
Impartially against them, and they, too, 
Have no good, speaker at the Judge's ear, 
No witnesses to bring them off for gold. 
No power to turn the sentence from its course ; 
And they of low estate, \\ho saw themselves. 
Day after day, despised, and wronged, and mocked. 
Without redress, could scarcely think the day 
Should e'er arrive, when they, in truth, should stam' 
On perfect level with the potentates 
And princes of the earth, and have their cause 
Examined fairly, and their rights allowed. 
But now this truth was felt, believed and f«Jlt, 



BOOK IX. 403 

rhat men were really of a common stock, 
That no miin ever had been more than man. 

Much prophecy — revealed by holy bards, 
Who sung the will of heaven by Judah's streams- 
Much propliecy, that waited long the scoff 
Of lips uiicircumcised, was then fulfilled ; 
To the last tittle scrupuloxisly fulfilled. 
It was foretold by those of ancient days, 
A time should come, when "wickedness shoxild weep 
Abased ; when every lofty look of man 
Should be bowed down, and all his haughtiness 
Made low ; when righteousness alone should lift 
The head in glory, and rejoice at heart ; 
"When many, fixst in splendor and renowTi, 
Should be most xHe ; and many, lowest once. 
And last in Poverty's obscurest nook, 
Highest and first in honor, should be seen. 
Exalted ; and when some, when all the good, 
Should rise to glory and eternal life ; 
And all the bad, lamenting, wake, condemned 
To shame, contempt, and everlasting grief. 

These prophecies had tarried long, so long 
That many wagged the head, and, taunting, asked, 
** When shall they come ? " but asked no more, uoi 

mocked ; 
For '^he reproach of prophecy was wiped 
Away, and every wocd of God found true. 

And, oh ! what change of state, what change m 
rank. 
In that assembly everyAvhere was seen ! 
The humble-hearted laughed, the lofty mourned. 
And every man, according to his works 
Wrought in the body, there took character. 



404 THE COURSE OF TIME 

Tlius Stood they mixed, all generations st^^f^ 1 
Of all mankind, innumerable throng ! 
(Jreat harvest of the grave ! — waiting the will 
Of heaven, attentively, and silent all, 

As forest spreading out beneath the calm i 

Of evening skies, when even the single leaf 
Is heard distinctly rustle down and fall ; 
j So silent they, when from above, the sound 

j Of rapid wheels approached, and suddenly 

I In heaven appeared a host of angels strong, 

[ With chariots and with steeds of burning lire : 

Cherub, and Seraph, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, 

Bright in celestial armor, dazzKng, rode. 

And, leading in the front, illustrious shone 

Michael and Gabriel, servants long approved 

In high commission, — girt that day with power, 

Which naught created, man or devil, might 

Resist. Nor waited, gazing, long ; but, qmck 

Descending, silently and without song. 

As servants bend to do their master's work, 

To middle air they raised the human race, 

Above the path long travelled by the sun ; 

And as a shepherd from the sheep divides 

The goats ; or husbandman, with reaping bands, 

In harvest, separates the precious w^heat. 

Selected from the tares ; so did they part 

Mankind, the good and bad, to right and left, 

To meet no more ; these ne'er again to smile, 

Nor those to weep ; these never more to share 

Society of mercy with the saints. 

Nor, henceforth, those to suffer with the vile. 

Strange parting ! not for hours, nor days, nor months 

Nor for ten thousand times ten thousand years ; 

But for a whole eternity ! — though fit. 

And pleasant to the righteous, yet to all 

Strange, and most strangely felt ! The sire, to right 



^Jl 



405 



Retiring, saw the son — sprung from his loins, 

Beloved how dearly once ; but who forgot, 

Too soon, in sin's intoxicating cup. 

The father's warnings and the mother's tears — 

Fall to the left among the reprobate ; 

And sons, redeemed, beheld the fathers, whom 

They loved and honored once, gathered among 

The wicked. Brothers, sisters, kinsmen, friends ; 

Husband and ^\^fe, who ate at the same board. 

And Tinder the same roof, miited, dwelt. 

From youth to hoary age, bearing the chance 

And change of Time together, parted then 

For evermore. But none, whose friendship grew 

From virtue's pure and everlasting root. 

Took different roads ; these, knit in stricter bonds 

Of amity, embracing, saw no more 

Death, vnth his scythe, stand by ; nor heard the word, 

The bitter word, which closed all earthly friendships, 

And finished every feast of love — Farewell. 

To all, strange parting ! to the wicked, sad 

And terrible ! New horror seized them, while 

They saw the saints withdrawing, and with them 

All hope of safety, all delay of "WTath. 

Beneath a crown of rosy light, — like that 
Which once, in Goshen, on the flocks, and herds, 
And dwellings, smiled, of Jacob, while the land 
Of Nile was dark; or like the pillar bright 
Of sacred fire, that stood above the sons 
Of Israel, when they camped at midnight by 
The foot of Horeb, or the desert side 
Of Sinai ; — now, the righteous took their place, 
All took their place, who ever wished to go 
To heaven, for heaven's own sake. Not one remained 
Among the accursed, that e'er desired with aU 
The heart to be redeemed, that ever sought 



JOG THE COUBSE OF TIME. 

Submissively to do the will of God, 

Howe'er it ciossed his own; or to escaj)e 

Hell, for aught other than its penal fires. 

All took their place, rejoicing, and beheld, 

In centre of the cro\vTi of golden beams 

That canopied them o'er, these gracious words, 

IJlushing with tints of love : "Pear not, my saints. ' 

To other sight of horrible dismay, 
Jehovah's ministers the wicked drove. 
And left them boxind immovable in chains 
Of Justice. O'er their heads a bowless cloud 
Of indignation hung ; a cloud it was 
Of thick and utter darkness, rolling, like 
An ocean, tides of li\'id, pitchy flame ; 
With thunders charged, and lightnings ruinous, 
And red with forked vengeance, such as wounds 
The soul ; and full of angry shapes of wrath. 
And eddies whirhng with tumultuous fire. 
And forms of terror raving to and fi:o, 
And monsters iinimagined heretofore. 
By guilty men in dreams before their death. 
From horrid to more horrid changing still. 
In hideous movement through that stormy gulf; 
And evermore the Thunders, murmuring, spoke 
From out the darkness, uttering loud these words, 
Which every guUty conscience echoed back : 
•• Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not " 
Dread words! that barred excuse, and threw tne 

weight 
Of every man's perdition on himself. 
Directly home. Dread words ! heard then, and heard 
For ever through the wastes of Ereons. 
' Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not ! " 
These were the words which glowed upon the sword 
Whose wrath burned fearfully bohind the cursed. 



407 



As they were driven away from God to Tophet. 
"Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not ! " 
These are the words to which the harps of grief 
Are strung ; and, to the chorus of the damned, 
The rocks of hell repeat them, evermore ; 
Loud echoed through the caverns of despair, 
And poured in thunder on the ear of Wo. 

Nor mined men alone, beneath that cloud, 
Trembled. There, Satan and his legions stood, 
Satan, the first and eldest sinner, — bound 
For judgment. He, by other name, held once 
Conspicuous rank in heaven among the sons 
Of happiness, rejoicing, day and night. 
But pride, that was ashamed to bow to God, 
Most High, his bosom filled with hate, his face 
Made black with envy, and in his soul begot 
Thoughts guilty of rebellion 'gainst the throne 
Of the Eternal Father and the Son,— 
From everlasting built on righteousness. 

Ask not how pride, in one created pure. 
Could grow ; or sin without example spring. 
Where holiness alone was sown : esteem't 
Enough, that he, as every being made 
By God, was made entirely holy, had 
The will of God before him set for law 
And regulation of his life, and power 
To do as bid ; but was, meantime, left free, 
To prove his worth, his gratitude, his love ; 
How proved besides ? for how coidd service dons 
That might not else have been withheld, evince 
The will to serve, which, rather than the deed, 
God doth require, and virtue cotmts alone ? 
To stand or fall, to do or leave undone. 
Is reason's ofty privilege, denied 



408 THE COUKSE OF TIME. 

To ail below, by instinct bound to fate, 
Unmeriting, alike, reward or blame. 

ThxLS free, the Devil chose to disobey 
The ^vill of God, and was throAATi out from hi 
And with him all his bad example stained : 
Yet not to utter punishment decreed. 
But left to iill the measure of his sin, 
In tempting and seducing man — too soon. 
Too easily seduced I And, from the day 
He first set foot on earth, — of rancor fuR, 
And pride, and hate, and malice, and revenge- 
He set himself, with most felonious aim 
And hellish perseverance, to root out 
All good, and in its place to plant all ill ; 
To rub and raze, from all created things, 
The fair and holy portraiture divine. 
And on them to enstamp his features grim, 
To draw all creatures off from loyalty 
To their Creator, and to make them bow 
The knee to him. Nor failed of great success, 
As populous hell, this day, can testif}-. 
He held, indeed, large empire in the world. 
Contending proudly with the King of heaven. 
To him temples were built, and sacrihce 
Of costly blood upon his altiirs flowed ; 
And — what best pleased him, for in show he seeui» 
Then likest God — whole nations, bo'W'ing. fell 
Before him, worshipping, and from his hps 
Entreated oracles, which he, by priests. 
For many were his priests in every age, — 
Answered, though guessing but at future things, 
And erring oft. yet still believed ; so well 
His ignorance, in ambiguous phrase, he veiled. 

Nor needs it wonder, that with man once faller. , 
His tempting should succeed. Large was nm m^id 



40)( 



AJid understandiiig ; though impaired by sin. 
Still large ; and constant practice, day and night, 
In cunnijig, guile, and all hj-pocrisy, 
From age to age, gave hun experience vast 
In sin's dark tactics, such as bo^-ish man, 
Unarmed by strength di-vine, could Ul withstand. 
And well he knew his weaker side ; and still. 
His lures, with baits that pleased the senses, bu&ked 
To his impatient passions oifering terms 
Of present joy, and bribing reason's eye 
With earthly wealth, and honors near at hand. 
Nor failed to misad\-ise his future hope 
And faith, by false, unkemeled promises 
Of heavens of sensuaJ^luttony and love, 
That suited best their grosser appetites. 
Into the sinner's heart, who lived secure, 
And feared him least, he entered at his wilL 
Bat chief, he chose his residence in coiirts 
And conclaves, stirring princes up to acts 
Of blood and tjTanuy ; and moving priests 
To barter truth, and swap the souls of men 
For lusty benefices, and address 
Of lofty sounding. Nor the saints elect. 
Who walked with God, in virtue's path sublime^ 
Did he not sometimes venture to molest ; 
In dreams and moments of unguarded thought. 
Suggesting guilty doubti> and fears, that God 
Would disappoint their hope ; and in their way 
Bestre\\-ing plea.sures, tongued so sweet, and so 
In holy garb arrayed, that many stooped, 
Belie^'ing them of heavenly sort, and fell ; 
And to their high professions, brought disgrace 
And scandal ; to themselves, thereafter, long 
And bitter nights of sore repentance, vexed 
W^ith shame, unwonted sorrow, and remorse. 
35 



i 



i 



410 THE CX)rK5E OP riME. 

And mere tkey shoxild hare fallen, and more hare 

wept, 
Had not their guardian angels, who, by God 
Commissioned, stood beside them in the hour 
Of danger, whether craft, or fierce attack. 
To Satan's deepest skill opposing skill 
^lore deep, and to his strongest arm, an arm 
More strong, — tipbome them in tlieir hands, and 

tilled 
Their souls with all discermnent, qxdck, to pierce 
Hj-s stratagems and feirest show^s of sin. 

Now, like a roaring lion, vm and down 
The world, destroying, thoiig* unseen, he raged ; 
And now, retiring back to Tartarus, 
Far back, beneath the thick of guiltiest dark, 
INTicre night ne'er heard ol lay, in council grim, 
He sat with ministers whost iioughts were damned, 
And there such plans devise-^ as, had not God 
Checked and restrained, had added earth entire 
To hell, and uninhabited left heaven, 
Jehovah unadored- Nor unsevere, 
Even then, his punishment deserved. The "Worm 
That never dies, coiled in his bosom, gnawed 
Terpen lally ; sin after sin brought pang 
Succeeding p>ang ; and, now and then, the bolts 
Of Zion's King, vindictive, smote his 5o\d 
With nery wo to blast his proud designs ; 
And gave him earnest of the wrath to come. 
And chiefs when, on the cross, Messiah said, 
" 'Tis finished," did the edge of vengeance smite 
TTim through, and all his gloomy legions touch 
"With new despair. But yet, to be the first 
In mischief, to have armies at his calL 
To hold dispute with God, in days of Time^ 
His pride and malice fed, and hcw> him up 



41; 



A.bove the worst of ruin. Still, to plan 

And act great deeds, though wicked, brought at leajst 

The recompense which nature hath attached 

To all acti\-ity, and aim pursued 

^Vith perseverance, good or bad ; for as. 

By nature's laws, immutable and just, 

Enjoj-ment stops where indolence begins ; 

And purposeless, to-morrow borrowing sloth, 

[t--cli', heaps on its shoiilders loads of wo, 

TiX> hea^-A- to be borne ; so industry — 

To mediate, to plan, resolve, perforth, 

Uldch ia itself is good — as siirely brings 

Reward of good, no matter what be done : 

And such reward the Devil had, as long 

As the decrees eternal gave him space 

To work. But now, all action ceased ; his hope 

Oi doing evil perished quite ; his pride, 

II is counige, failed him ; and beneath that cloud 

Which hung its central terrors o'er his head. 

With all his angels, he, for sentence, stood. 

And rolled his eyes around, that uttered guilt 

And wo, in horrible perfection joined. 

As he had been the chief and leader, long. 

Of the apostate crew that warred with God 

And hoRncss ; so now, among the bad. 

Lowest, and most forlorn, emd trembling most, 

\T'ith all iniq-dty deformed and foul. 

With all perdition ruinous and dark, 

He stood, — example awful of the wrath 

Of God I and mark, to which all sin must fall !— 

And made, on every side, so black a hell. 

That spirits, used to night and misery. 

To distance drew, and looked another way ; 

And from their golden cloud, far oif, the saints 

Saw round him darkness grow more dark, and heard 

The im.paticnt thunderbolts, with deadliest crash 



112 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

And frequentest, break o'er his head, — the sign 
That Satan, there, the vilest sinner, stood. 

Ah me ! what eyes were there beneath that 

cloud ! 
Eyes of despair, final and certain ! eyes 
That looked, and looked, and saw, where'er they 

looked, 
Intcrmuxable darkness ! utter wo ! 

'Twas pitiful to see the early flower 
Nipped by the unfeeling frost, just when it rose» 
Lovely in youth, and put its beauties on. 
'Twas pitiful to see the hopes of all 
The year, the yellow harvest, made a heap, 
By rains of judgment; or by torrents swept !i 

With flocks and cattle, down the raging flood ; i 

Or scattered by the wiimowing winds, that bore li 

Upon their angry wings, the wrath of heaven. j 

Sad was the field, where, yesterday, was heard 
The roar of war ; and sad the sight of maid. 
Of mother, AWdow, sister, daughter, wife, \\ 

Stooping and weeping over senseless, cold, jl 

Defaced, and mangled lumps of breathless earth, ' i\ 

Which had been husbands, fathers, brothers, sons 
And lovers, when that morning's sun arose. 
'Twas sad to see the wonted seat of friend 
Removed by death ; and sad to visit scenes^ 
When old, where, in the smiling morn of life. 
Lived many, who both knew and loved us muoh^ 
And they all gone, dead, or dispersed abroad ; 
And stranger faces seen among their hills. 
'Twas sad to see the httle orphan babe 
Weeping and sobbing on its mother's grave. 
'Twas pitiful to see an old, forlorn, 
)ecrepit, withered wretch, unhoused, iu\clad. 



4U 



Starving to dijath with poverty and cold. 
'Tvvas pitiful to see a blooming bride, 
That promise gave of many a happy year, 
Touched by decay, turn pale, and waste, and die 
'Twas pi^iiul to hear the murderous thrust 
Of ruffian's blade that sought the life entire. 
'Twas sad to hear the blood come gurgling forth 
From out the throat of the wild suicide. 
Sad was the sight of widowed, childless age 
Weeping. — 1 saw it once. Wrinkled with time, 
And hoary with the diLst of years, an old 
And worthy man came to his humble roof, 
Tottering and slow, and on the threshold stood. 
No foot, no voice, was heard within. None came 
To meet him, where he had oft met a wife, 
And sons, and daughters, glad at his return ; 
None came to meet him ; for that day had seen 
The old man lay, witliin the narrow house, 
The last of all his family ; and now 
He stood in solitude, in solitude 
Wide as the world ; for all, that made to him 
Society, had fled beyond its boimd. 
\\Tierever strayed his aimless eye, there lay 
The wreck of some fond hope, that touched his soul 
With bitter thoughts, and told him all was passed 
His lonely cot was silent, and he looked 
As if he could not enter. On his staff, 
Bending, he leaned ; and li'om his weary eye, 
Distressing sight ! a single tear-drop wept. 
None followed, for the fount of tears was dry. 
Alone and last, it fell from wrinkle down 
To wrinkle, till jt lost itself, drunk by 
The withered cheek, on which again no smile 
Should com'e, or drop of tenderness be seen. 
This sight was very pitiful ; but one 
VVas sadder still, the saddest seen in Time. 
3a* 



€14 THE COrEiE OF TDtB. 

A mm, to-day, the glory of his kind, 

L& AtaM oa clear, in understanding large, 

In judgment sound, in fancy quick, in hope 

Abundant, and in promise, like a field 

Well cultured, and refreshed with dews from G-od ; 

To-morrow, chained, and raving mad, and whipped 

Bt servile hands; sitting on dismal straw, 

And gnashing with his teeth against the chain. 

The iron chain, that bound hi m hand and foot ; 

And trying whiles to send his glaring eye 

Beyond the wide circumference of his wo ; 

Or, humbling more, more miserable still. 

Giving an idiot laug;h that served to show 

The blasted scenen*' of his horrid face ; 

Calling the straw his sceptre, and the stone. 

On which he, pinioned, sat, his royal throne. 

Poor, poor, poor man ! fallen far below the brute ! 

His reason strove in vain to find her way. 

Lost in the stormy desert of his brain ; 

And, being active still, she wrought all strange. 

Fantastic, execrable, monstroiis things. 

All these were sad, and thousands more, that sleep 
Porgotten beneath the funeral pall of Time; 
And bards, as well became, bewailed them much, 
"With doleful instruments of weeping song. 
But what were these r What might be worse had in% 
However small, some grains of happiness ; 
And man ne'er drank a cup of earthly sort, 
That might not held another drop of gall ; 
Or, in his deepest sorrow, laid his head 
Cpon a pillow, set so close with thorns. 
That might not held another prickle stilL 
Aceasdingly, the saddest human look 
Had hope in't ; faint, indeed, but still 'twae hope. 
But why excuse the misery of earth ? 



1 



415 



Say it was dismal, cold, and dark, and deep. 
Beyond the utteranc e of stron;^cst words ; 
But say that none remembered it, who saw 
The eye of beings damned for evennore. 
Rolling, and rolling, rolling still in vain. 
To find some ray, to see beyond the gulf 
Of an unavenucd, fierce, fiery, hot, 
Interminable, dark Futxirity ! 
And rolling still, and rolling still in vain ! 

Thus stood the reprobate beneath the shade 
Of terror, and beneath the crown of love, 
The good ; and there was silence in the vault 
Of heaven ; and, as they stood and listened, they heard 
Afar to left, among the utter dark, 
Hell rolling o'er his waves of burning fire. 
And thundering through his caverns, empty then. 
As if he preparation made, to act 
The final vengeance of the fiery Lamb. 
And there was heard, coming from out the Pit. 
The hollow wailing of Eternal Death, 
And horrid cry of the Undjing Worm. 

The wicked paler turned, and scarce the good 
Their color kept ; but were not long dismayed, 
niat moment, in the heavens, how wo'^drous fair ! 
Tlic angel Mercy stood, and, on the bad 
Turning his back, over the ransomed threw 
His bow, beflropj)ed with imagery of love. 
And promises on which their faith reclined. 
Throughout, deep, breathless silence reigned again, 
And on the circuit of the upper spheres, 
A glorious seraph stood, and cried aloud. 
That every ear of man and devil heard, 
** Him that is filthy, let be filthy still ; 
Him that is holy, let be holy stilL" 



416 



And, suddenly, another squadron bright, 

Of high, archangel glorj', stooping, brought 

A marvellous bow, — one base upon the Cross, 

The other on the shoulder of the Bear, 

They placed, — from south to north, spanning th« 

heavens. 
And on each hand dxA-iding good and bad, — 
Who road, on cither side, these burning words. 
Which ran along the arch in living fire. 
And wanted not to be believed in full : 
" A& JQ hfi-ve sown, so shiiU ye reap this d*3 *" 



COURSE OF TIME 

BOOK X. 



ANALYSIS OF BOOK X- 



In the beginning the Author invokes the presence and aid of th« 
Holy Spirit, while he inlerprets the notes of the ancient Bard 
describing the Day of Judgment. 

The Bard proceeds Soon millions infinite of holy spirits are 
heard and seen gathering before the Eternal Throne, from 
heaven and from countless wor'.ds around. Silence ensues, 
and from a radiant cloud the voice of God comes forth, an- 
nounces to the assembled millions the object of calling them 
to his presence, and states mat the destiny of Man is con- 
cluded, the Day of Retribution come, and the generations of 
Earth collected at the place of Judgment. The voice ilien ad- 
dresses the Son Messiah, assigning to him the covenanted of- 
fice of Judge. The Son, taking the Book of Gods Remem- 
brance, the Crowns of life, and the Sword of justice, and at- 
tended by the summoned millions, move forth in glory, becomes 
visible to the assembled sons of men, and ascends the Throne 
between the good and bad. An angel unfolds the book. In 
awful silence, the Judge waits, while every conscience attests 
the record. He rises to pronounce the sentence. No creature 
breathes; the spheres and stars, with every particle of mat- 
ter, stand still. — Those trembling on the left hear a dread de- 
cree of burning words ; the Sword of justice gleams and 
plunges in their midst; they sink in utter darkness, returning 
one groan of boundless wo, as Hell closes round, and the Uii- 
dyuig Worm and Second Death begin their endless repast.— 
The last Fire then consumes the Earth.— Finally, the right- 
eous hear a joyous welcome, receive their crow^ns, and ascend 
with the Judge, singing with the aagels, " Glory m God and 
lo the Lamb ' 



THE 

COURSE OF TIME. 
BOOK X. 

God of my fathers ! holy, just, and good ! 
My God ! ray Father ! my unfailing Hope ! 
Jehovah ! let the incense of my praise, 
Accepted, bum before thy mercy-seat. 
And in thy presence burn, both day and nighL 
Maker ! Preserver ! my Redeemer ! God ! 
Whom have I in the heavens but Thee alone ? 
On earth, but Thee, whom should I praise, whom 

love ? 
For Thou hast brought me hitherto, upheld 
By thy omnipotence ; and from thy grace, 
Unbought, unmerited, though not unsought — 
The wells of thy salvation, hast refreshed 
My spirit, watering it, at mom and even ; 
And, by thy Spiiit, which thou freely givest 
To whom thou wilt, hast led my venturous song. 
Over the vale and mountain tract, the light 
And shade of man ; into the burning deep 
Descending now, and now circling the mount, 
^\^lere highest sits Divinity enthroned ; 
Rolling along the tide of fluent thought, 
The tide of moral, natural, divine ; 
Gazing on past and present, and again, 
On rapid pinion borne, outstripping Time 
[n long excvirsion, wandering through the groves 



420 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Unfading, and the endless avenues, 
That shade the landscape of Eternity ; 
And talking there with holy angels met. 
And future nxen, in glorious vision seen ! 
Nor unrewarded have I watched at night, 
And heard the drowsy sound of neighboring sleep. 
New thought, new imagery, new scenes of bliss 
And glory, unrehearsed by mortal tongue, 
Which, unrevealed, I trembling, turned and left, 
Bursting at once upon my ravished eye, — 
With joy unspeakable have filled my soul, 
And made my cup run over with delight ; 
Though in my face the blasts of adverse winds, 
While boldly circumnavigating man, 
Winds seeming adverse, though perhaps not so, 
Have beat severely ; disregarded beat. 
When I, behind me, heard the voice of God, 
And his propitious Spirit say, Fear not ! 



God of my fathers ! ever present God ! 
This offering, more, inspire, STistain, accept ; 
Highest, if numbers answer to the theme ; 
Best answering, if thy Spirit dictate most. 
Jehovah ! breathe upon my soul ; my heart 
Enlarge ; my faith increase ; increase my ha;>o ; 
My thoughts exalt ; my fancy sanctify, 
And all my passions, that I near thy throne 
May venture, unreproved ; and sing the clay, 
Which none unholy ought to name, the Day 
Of Judgment ! greatest day, passed or to conio ! 
Day ! which, — deny me what thou wilt, deny 
Me home, or friend, or honorable name, 
Thy mercy grant, I thoroughly prepared, 
With comely garment of redeeming iovc, 
May meet, and have my Judge for .S^dvocato. 



421 



Come, Gracious Influence, Breath of the Lord, 
And touch me trembling, as thou touched the man. 
Greatly beloved, when he in vision saw, 
By Ulai's stream, the Ancient sit ; and talked 
With Gabriel, to his prayer swiftly sent. 
At evening sacritice. Hold my right hand, 
Almighty ! hear me, for I ask tlu-ough Him, 
Whom thou hast heard, whom thou wilt always >>eai 
Thy Son, our interceding Great High Priest ! 
Reveal the future, let the years to come 
Pass by, and oi)en my ear to hear the harp, 
The proi)het harp, whose wisdom I repeat, 
Interpretiiig the voice of distant song ; — 
"SNTiich thus again resumes the lofty verse, 
Loftiest, if I interpret faithiully 
The holy numbers which my spirit hears. 

Thus came the day, the Harp again began. 
The day that many thought should never come, 
That all the wicked wished should never come, 
That all the righteous had expected long ; 
Day greatly feared, and yet too little feared. 
By him who feared it most ; day laughed at much 
By the profaue, the trembling day of all 
Who laughed ; day when all shadows passed, al 

dreams ; 
^\^l.en substance, when reality commenced ; 
Last day of lying, tinal day of all 
Deceit, all luiavery, all quackish phrase ; 
Endcr of all disputing, of all mh-th 
Ungodly, of all loud and boasting speech ; 
Judge of all judgments, Judge of every judge, 
Adjuster of all causes, rights and WTongs ; 
Day oft appealed to, and appealed to oft 
By those who saw its dawn with saddest heart : 
Day most magiiiticent in Fancy's range, 
36 



422 THB COTTRSE OF TIME. 

Whence she returned, confounded, trembling, pale. 

With overmuch of glory faint and blind ; 

Day most important held, prepared for most. 

By every rational, wise, and holy man ; 

Day of eternal gain, for worldly loss ; 

Day of eternal loss for worldly gain ; 

Great day of terror, vengeance, wo, despair; 

Revealer of all secrets, thoughts, desires ; 

Rein-trj'ing, heart-investigating day, 

That stood between Eternity and Time, 

Reviewed all past, determined all to come, 

And bound all destinies for evermore ; 

Believing day of unbelief; great day, 

That set in proper light the affairs of earth, 

And justified the Govermnent Divine ; 

Great day ! — what can we more r what should wi 

more? 
Great triimiph day of God's incarnate Sonl 
Great day of glory to the Almighty God ! 
Day ! whence the everlasting years begin 
Their date, new era in eternity. 
And oft referred to in the song of heaven ! 

Thus stood the apostate, thus the ransomed stood. 
Those held by justice fast, and these by love, 
Reading the fiery scutcheonry, that blazed 
On high, upon the great celestial bow : 
**As ye have sown, so shall ye reap this day." 
All read, all understood, and all believed, 
Convinced of judgment, righteousness, and sin. 

Meantime the imiverse throughout was still. 
The cope, above and round about, was calm ; 
And motionless, beneath them, lay the Earth, 
Silent and sad, as one that sentence waits, 
¥or flagrant crime ; — ^when suddenly was heard. 



BOOK X. 423 

Behind the azure vaulting of the sky. 

Above, and fai remote from reach of sight. 

The sound of jumpets, and the sound of crowds, 

And prancing steeds, and rapid chariot wheels, 

That from four quarters rolled, and seemed in hasten 

Assembling at some place of rendezvous ; 

And so they seemed to roll, with fuiious speed, 

As if none meant to be behind tlie tirst. 

Nor seemed alone ; that day, the golden trump, 

Whose voice, from centre to circumference 

Of all created things, is heard distinct, 

God had bid Michael sound, to summon all 

The hosts of bliss to presence of tlieir King ; 

And, all the morning, millions infinite. 

That millions governed each, Dominions, Powers, 

Thrones, Principalities, with all their hosts, 

Had been arriving near the capital. 

And royal city, New Jerusalem, 

From heaven's remotest bounds. Nor yet from heaven 

Alone came they, that day. The worlds around, 

Or neighboring nearest on the verge of night, 

Emptied, sent forth their whole inhabitants. 

All tribes of being came, of every name, 

From every coast, tilling Jehovah's courts. 

From morn till mid-day, in the squadrons poured 

Immense, along the bright celestial roads. 

Swiftly they rode, for love imspeakable, 

To God, and to Messiah, Prince of Peace, 

Drew them, and made obedience haste to be 

Approved. And now, before the Eternal Throne,— 

Brighter, that day, than when the Son prepared 

To overthrow the seraphim rebelled, — 

And circling round the mount of Deity, 

Jpon the sea of glass all round about. 

And dou-n the borders of the stream of life^ 

And over all the plains of Paradise, 



424 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

For many a league of heavenly measurement,- - 

Assembled, stood the immortal multitudes, 

Millions, above all number infinite, 

The nations of the blessed. Distinguished each, 

By chief of goodly stature blazing far; 

Bj"- various garb, and flag of various hue 

Streaming through heaven from standard lifted high— 

The arms and imagery of thousand worlds. 

Distinguished each, but all arrayed complete, 

In armor bright, of helmet, shield, and sword; 

And mounted all in chariots of tire. 

A military throng, blent, not confused ; 

As soldiers on some day of great review 

Burning in splendor of refulgent gold. 

And ornament, on purpose, long devised 

For this expected day. Distinguished each. 

But all accoutred as became their Lord, 

And high occasion ; all in holiness, 

The hvcry of the soldiery of God, 

Vested ; and shining all with perfect bliss, 

The wages that his faithful servants win. 

Thus stood they numberless around the mount 
Of presence ; and, adoring, waited, hushed 
In deepest silence, for the voice of God. 
That moment, all the Sacred Hill on high 
Burned, terrible with glory, and, behind 
The uncreated lustre, hid the Lamb, 
Invisible ; when, from the radiant cloud, 
This voice, addressing all the hosts of heaven, 
Proceeded, not in words as we converse. 
Each with his fellow, but in language such 
As God doth use, imparting, without phrase 
Successive, what, in speech of creatures, seema 
Long narrative, though long, yet losing much 
In feeble symbols of the thought Divine. 



42A 



My servants long approved, my faithful sons, 
Angels of glory, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, 
Well pleased, this morning, I have seen the speed 
Of your obedience, gathering rovmd my throne, 
In order due, and well-becoming garb ; 
Illustrious, as I see, beyond your wont. 
As was my A\'ish, to glorify this day : 
And now, what your assembling means, attend. 

This day concludes the destiny of man 
The hour appointed from eternity, 
To judge the earth, in righteousness, is come; 
To end the war of Sin, that long has fought. 
Permitted, against the sword of Holiness ; 
To give to men and devils, as their works, 
Recorded in my all-remembering book, 
I find ; good to the good, and great reward 
Of everlasting honor, joy, and peace. 
Before my presence here for evermore ; 
And to the evil, as their sins provoke. 
Eternal recompense of shame and wo, 
Cast out beyond the bounds of light and love. 

Long have I stood, as ye, my sons, well know 
Between the cherubim, and stretched my arms 
Of mercy out, inviting all to come 
To me and live ; my bowels long have moved 
With great compassion ; and my justice passed 
Trangression by, and not imputed sin. 
Long here, upon my everlasting throne, 
I have beheld my love and mercy scorned ; 
Have seen my laws despised, my name blasphemed, 
My pro\'idcnce accused, my gracious plans 
Opposed ; and long, too long, have I beheld 
The A\'icked triumph, and my saints reproached 
Maliciously, wJiile on my altars lie, 
36* 



426 THE COUIISK OF TIME. 

Unanswered still, tboir prayers and their tears, 

That seek my coming, wearied with delay ; 

And long, Disorder in my mora] reign 

Has walked rebelliously, disturbed the peace 

Of my eternal government, and wrought 

Confusion, spreading far and wide, among 

My works inferior, which groan to be 

lieleased. Nor long shall groan. The hour of graces 

The final hour of grace, is fully passed ; 

The time accepted for repentance, faith, 

And pardon, is irrevocably passed ; 

And Justice, unaccompanied, as wont, 

With Mercy, now goes forth, to give to all 

According to their deeds. Justice alone, — 

For why should Mercy any more be joined ? 

What hath not mercy, mixed with judgment, doii^ 

That mercy, mixed with judgment and reproof 

Could do ? Did I not revelition make, 

Plainly and clearly, of my will entire ? 

Before them set my holy law, and gave 

Them knowledge, wisdom, prowess to obey, 

And win, by self- wrought works, eternal life ? 

Rebelled, did I not send them terms of peace, 

Which, not my justice, but my mercy asked?— 

Terms, costly to my well- beloved Son ; 

To them, gratuitous, exacting faith 

Alone for pardon, works evincing faith ? 

Have I not early risen, and sent my seers. 

Prophets, apostles, teachers, ministers, 

With signs and wonders, AA'orking in my name I 

Have I not still, from age to age, raised up, 

As I saw needful, great, religious men, 

(iifted by me with large capacity, 

And by my arm omnipotent upheld. 

To pour the numbers of m) mercy forth, 

4nd roll my judgments on the ear of man? 



427 



\Tifl lastly, when the promised hour was CDme,— 

What more could most abundant mercy do ? — 

Did I not send Iramanuel forth, my Son, 

Only begotten, to purchase, by his blood, 

As many as believed upon his name ? 

Did he not die to give repentance, such 

As I accept, and pardon of all sins ? 

Has he not taught, beseeched, and shed abroad 

The Spirit uncontined, and given at times 

Example fierce of wrath and judgment, poured 

Vindictively on nations guilty long ? 

\\Tiat means of reformation, that my Son 

Has left behind, untried ? what plainer words, 

What argximents more strong, as yet remain ? 

Did he not tell them, with his lips of truth. 

The righteous should be saved, the wicked damned i 

And has he not, awake both day and night, 

Here interceded with prevailing voice, 

At my right hand, pleading his precious blood, 

"Which magnified my holy law, and bought 

For all who wished, perpetual righteousness ! 

And have not you, my ftiithful servants, all 

Been frequent forth, obedient to my will. 

With messages of mercy and of love, 

Administering my gifts to sinful man ? 

And have not all my mercy, all my love. 

Been sealed and stamped with signature of heaven 

By proof of wonders, miracles, and signs 

Attested, and attested more by truth 

Divine, inherent in the tidings sent ? 

This day declares the consequence of all. 

Some have believed, are sanctified, f.nd saved, 

Prepared for dwelling in this holy p.ace, 

In these their mansions, built before my face ; 

And now, beneath a crown of golden light, 

Beyfind our wall, at place of judgmcn",, they, 



t28 THU COURSE OF TIME. 

Expecting, wait the promised, due reward. 
The others stand with Satan, bound in chains, 
The others, who refused to be redeemed : 
They stand, unsanetihed, unpardoned, sad, 
Waiting the sentence that shall fix their wo. 
The others, who refused to be redeemed ; 
For all had grace sufficient to believe, 
All who my gospel heard ; and none who heard 
It not, shall by its law, this day, be tried. 
Necessity of sinning, my decrees 
Imposed on none ; but rather, all inclined 
To holiness ; and grace was bountiful, 
Abundant, overflowing with my word ; 
My word of life and peace, which to all men, 
Who shall or stand or fall, by law revealed, 
Was oiTered freely, as 'twas freely sent, 
Without all money, and without all price. 
Thus they have all, by willing act, despised 
jMe, and my Son, and sanctifying Spirit. 
But now, no longer shall they mock or scorn. 
The day of grace and mercy is complete, 
And Godhead from their misery absolved. 

So saying. He, the Father infinite. 
Turning, addressed Messiah, where he sat. 
Exalted gloriously, at his right hand. 
This day belongs to justice and to thee. 
Eternal Son, thy right for service done, 
Abundantly fullilling all my will ; 
By promise thine, from all eternity. 
Made in the ancient Covenant of Grace ; 
And thine, as most befitting, since in thee 
Divine and human meet, imjiartial Judge, 
Consulting thus the interest of both. 
Go then, my Son, divine similitude, 
Image express of Deity unseen, '** 



429 



The book of my remembrance take; and take 

The golden croAvns of life, due to the saints ; 

And take the seven last thunders ruinous ; 

Tliy armor take ; gird on thy sword, thy sword 

Of justice ultimate, reserved, tUl now, 

Unsheathed, in the eternal armory ; 

And mount the living chariot of God. 

Thou goest not now, as once, to Calvary, 

To be insulted, buffeted, and slain ; 

Thou goest not now, wdth battle and the voice 

Of war, as once against the rebel hosts. 

Thou goest a Judge, and findst the guilty bound ; 

Thou goest to prove, condemn, acquit, reward. 

Not unaccompanied ; all these, my saints, 

Go with thee, glorious retinue, to sing 

Thy triumph, and participate thy joy; 

And I, the Omnipresent, with thee go ; 

And with thee all the glory of my throne. 

Thus said the Father ; and the Son beloved. 
Omnipotent, Omniscient, Fellow God, 
Arose, resplendent with Divinity ; 
And He the book of God's remembrance took ; 
And took the seven last thunders ruinous ; 
And took th' crowns of life, due to the saints; 
His armor to .i ; girt on his sword, his sword 
Of justice ultimate, reserved, till now, 
Unsheathed, in the eternal armory ; 
And up the li\dng chariot of God 
Ascended, signif}'ing all complete. 

And now the Trump of wondrous melody, 
By man or angel never heard before. 
Sounded with thvmder, and the march began* 
Not swift, as cavalcade, on battle bent, 
But, as became procession of a judge. 



♦ 30 THE COURSE OF TIMB- 

Solemn, magnificent, majestic, slow } 

Moving sublime with glory infinite. 

And numbers infinite, and awful song. 

They passed the gate of heaven, which maiiy a league^ 

Opened either way, to let the glory forth 

Of this great march. And now, the sons of men 

Beheld their coming, which, before, they heard ; 

Beheld the glorious countenance of God ! 

All light was swallowed up, all objects seen 

Faded ; and the Incarnate, visible 

Alone, held every eye upon him fixed ; 

The wicked saw his majesty severe ; 

And those who pierced Him saw his face with clouds 

Of glory circled round, essential bright ! 

And to the rocks and mountains called in vain, 

To hide them from the fierceness of his wrath ; 

Almighty power their flight restrained, and held 

Them bound immovable before the bar. 

The righteous, undismayed and bold, — best proo^ 
Tliis day, of fortitude sincere, -sustained 
By inward faith, with acclamations loud, 
Received the coming of the Son of Man ? 
And, drawn by love, iiiclined to his approach, 
Moving to meet the brightness of his face. 

Meantime, 'tween good and bad, the Judge hia 
w^heels 
Stayed, and, ascending, sat upon the great 
Wliite Throne, that morning fotmded there by powei 
Omnipotent, and built on righteousness 
And truth. Behind, before, on every side, 
In native and reflected blaze of bright, 
Celestial equipage, the myriads stood. 
That with his marching came ; rank above rank, 
Rank above rank, with shield and flaming sword. 



! 
431 11 



'Twas silence all ! and quick, on right and left, 
A mighty angel spread the book of God's 
Remembrance ; and, with conscience now sincere 
All men compared the record, written there 
By finger of Onjuiscience ; and received 
Their sentence, in themselves, of joy or wo ; 
Condemned or justified, while yet the Judge 
Waited, as if to let them prove themselves. 
The righteous, in the book of life displayed, 
Rejoicing, read their names ; rejoicing, read 
Their faith for righteousness received, and deeds 
Of holiness, as proof of faith complete. 
The wicked, in the book of endless death. 
Spread out to left, bewailing, read their names ; 
And read beneath them. Unbelief, and fruit 
Of unbeKef, vile, unrepented deeds, 
Now unrepentable for evermore ; 
And gave approval of the wo aflSjced. 

This done, the Omnipotent, Omniscient Judge 
Rose infinite, the sentence to pronounce, 

I The sentence of eternal wo or bliss ! 

i All glory heretofore scon or conceived, 

j All majesty, annihilated, dropped, 

j That moment, from remembrance, and was lost 

And silence, deepest hitherto esteemed. 
Seemed noisy to the stillness of this hour. 
Comparisons I seek not, nor should find. 
If sought. That silence, which all being held. 
When God's Almighty Son, from off the walls 
Of heaven the rebel angels threw, accursed. 
So still, that all creation heard their fall 
Distinctly, in the lake of burning fire, — 
Was now forgotten, and every silence else. 
All being rational, created then, 
Around the judgment seat, intensely li«ten«Kt. 



r 



432 THE COURSE OF TIME. | 

j 

No creature breathed. Man, angel, devil, stood 
And listened; the spheres stood still, and eveiy 

star 
Stood still, and listened ; and every particle. 
Remotest in the womb of matter, stood, 
Bending to hear, devotional and still. 
And thus upon the wicked, lirst, the Judge 
Pronounced the sentence, written before of old 
«• Depart from me, ye cursed, into the tire, 
Prepared eternal in the Gulf of Hell, 
Where ye shall weep and wail for evermore, 
Reaping the harvest which your sins have sown.'* 



So saying, God grew dark \\'ith utter wrath ; 
And, drawing now the SAVord, undrawn before, 
Which thi-ough the range of intinite, all around, 
A gleam of fiery indignation tlirew, 
He lifted up his hand omnipotent, 
And down among the damned the burning edge 
Plunged ; and trom forth iiis arrowy quiver sent, 
Emptied, the seven last thunders ruinous, 
Which, entering, withered all their souls with fire. 
Then first was vengeance, first was ruin seen ! 
Red, unrestrained, vindictive, final, fierce ! 
They, howling, fled to west among the dark : 
But fled not these the terrors of the Lord. 
Pursued, and driven beyond the Gulf, wliich frowns 
Impassable, between the good and bad. 
And downward far remote to left, oppressed 
And scorched with the avenging fires, begun 
Burning within them, — they upon the verge 
Of Erebus, a moment, pausing stood. 
And saw, below, the unfathomable lake, 
Tossing with tides of dark, tempestuous wrath ; 
And would have looked behind ; but greater wrath^ 
Behind, forbade, which now no respite gave 



BOOK X. 4S9 

To final misery. God, in the grasp 

Of his Almighty strength, took them upraised, 

And threw them dowTi, into the yawning pit 

Of bottomless perdition, ruiued, damned, 

Fast bound in chains of darkness evermore ; 

And Second Death, and the Undying Worm, 

Opening their horrid jaws, A^th hideous yell. 

Falling, received their everlasting prey. 

A groan returned, as down they sxmk, and simk, 

And ever sunk, among the utter dark ! 

A groan returned ! the righteous heard the groan. 

The groan of all the reprobate, when first 

They felt damnation sure ! and heard Hell close ! 

And heard Jehovah and his love retire ! 

A groan returned ! the righteous heard the groan. 

As if all misery, all sorrow, griefi 

All pain, all anguish, all despair, which all 

Have suffered, or shall feel, from first to last 

Eternity, had gathered to one pang. 

And issued in one groan of boimdless wo ! 

And now the wall of hell, the outer wall, 
First gateless then, closed roimd them; that whiLb 

thou 
Hast seen, of fiery adamant, emblazed 
With hideous imagery, above all hope. 
Above all flight of fancy, burning high. 
And guarded evermore, by Justice, turned 
To Wrath, that hears, immoved, the endless grc i 
Of those wasting within ; and sees, unmoved. 
The endless tear of vain repentance falL 

Nor ask if these shall ever be redeemed. 
They never shall ! Not God, but their own sin, 
Clondemns them. What could be done, as thou hast 
heard, 

37 



434 THE COURSE OP TIME. 

Has been already done; all has been tried, 

ITiat wisdom infinite, and boundless grace, 

Working together, cotdd devise ; and all 

Has failed. Why now succeed ? Though God ah< ul4 

stoop. 
Inviting still, and send his Only Son 
To offer grace in hell, the pride, that first 
Refused, would still refuse ; the unbeUef; 
Still unbelieving, would deride and mock , 
Nay more, refuse, deride, and mock ; for sin 
Increasing still, and growing, day and night, 
Into the essence of the soul, become 
All sin, makes what in time seemed probable, — 
Seemed probable, smce God invited them,— 
For ever now impossible. Thus they. 
According to the eternal laws which bind 
All creatures, bind the Uncreated One, 
Though we name not the sentence of the Judge, — 
Must daily grow in sin and pxmishment, 
Made by themselves their necessary lot. 
Unchangeable to all eternity. 

What lot ! what choice ! I sing not, cannot sing. 
Here, highest seraphs tremble on the lyre, 
And make a sudden pause ! — but thou hast seen. 
And here, the bard, a moment, held his hand. 
As one who saw more of that horrid wo 
Than words could utter ; and again resumed. 

Nor yet had vengeance done. The guilty Earth, 
Inanimate, debased, and stained by sin. 
Seat of rebellion, of corruption long. 
And tainted with mortality throughout, — 
God sentenced next ; and sent the final fires 
Of ruin forth, to burn and to destroy, 
the saints its burning saw, and thou mayest see. 



. BOOK X. 43d 

Look yonder, round the lofty golden walls 
And galleries of New Jerusalem, 
Among the imager}' of wonders passed ; 
Look near the southern gate ; look, and behold— 
On spacious canvass, touched with Hving hues — 
The Conflagration of the ancient earth, 
The handiwork of high archangel, drawn 
From memory of what he saw, that day. 
See ! how the mountains, how the valleys bum. 
The Andes bum, the Alps, the Apennines, 
Taurus and Atlas ; all the islands bum ; 
The Ocean bums, and rolls his waves of flame. 
See how the lightnings, barbed, red with wrath. 
Sent from the quiver of Omnipotence, 
Cross and recross the fiery gloom, and bum 
Lito the centre ! — bum without, within, 
And help the native fires, which God awoke, 
And kindled with the fury of his wrath. 
As inly troubled, now she seems to shake ; 
The flames, dividing, now, a moment, faU ; 
And now, in one conglomerated mass, 
Rising, they glow on high, prodigious blaae I 
Then fall and sink again, as if^ within. 
The fuel, burned to ashes, was consximed. 
So burned the Earth upon that dreadful day, 
Yet not to full annihilation burned. 
The essential particles of dust remained, 
Purged, by the final, sanctifying fires. 
From all comiption ; from all stain of sin, 
Done there by man or devil, purified. 
ITie essential particles remained, of which 
God built the world again, renewed, improved, 
"With fertile vale, and wood of fertile bough ; 
And streams of milk and honey, flowing song ; 
And mountains cinctured with perpetual green ; 
In clime and season fruitful, as at first. 



436 THE COUBSE OP TIME. 

When Adam woke, unfallen, in Paradise. 
And God, from out the fount of native ligh^ 
A handfid took of beams, and clad the sun 
Again in glory ; and sent forth the moon 
To borrow thence her wonted rays, and lead 
Her stars, the virgin daughters of the sky. 
And God revived the winds, revived the tides j 
And, touching her from his Almighty hand. 
With force centrifugal, she onward ran, 
Coursing her wonted path, to stop no more. 
Delightftil scene of new inhabitants ! 
As thou, this mom, in passing hither, sawst. 

Thus done, the glorious Judge, turning to righ^ 
With countenance of love imspeakable, 
Beheld the righteous, and approved them thus : 
"Ye blessed of my Father, come, ye just, 
Enter the joy eternal of your Lord ; 
Receive your crowns, ascend, and sit with me, 
At God's right hand, in glory evermore I " 

Thus said the Omnipotent, Incarnate Gol ; 
And waited not the homage of the crowns, 
Already thrown before him ; nor the loud 
Amen of imiversal, holy praise ; 
But turned the hving chariot of fire, 
And swifter now, — as joyful to declare 
This day's proceedings in his Father's cotirt, 
And to present the number of his sons 
Before the Throne, — ascended up to heaven. 
And all his saints, and all his angel bands. 
As, glorious, they on high ascended, simg 
Glory to God and to the Lamb ! — they sung 
Messiah, fairer than the sons of men, 
And altogether lovely. Grace ii poured 
IntJ thy lips, above all measure poured ; 



BOOK X. 437 

A-nd therefore God hath blessed thee evermore. 

Gird, gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou 

Most Mighty ! with thy glory ride ; with all 

ITiy majesty, ride prosperously, because 

Of meekness, truth, and righteousness. Thy throne^ 

O God, for ever and for ever stands ; 

Tlie sceptre of thy kingdom still is right ; 

Therefore hath God, thy God, anointed thee 

With oU of gladness and perfumes of myrrh. 

Out of the ivory palaces, above 

Thy fellows, crowned the Prince of endless peace I 

Thus sung they God, their Saviour : and themselvei 
Prepared complete to enter now, with Christ, 
Their living Head, into the Holy Place. 
Behold ! the daughter of the King, the bride, 
All glorious withiui, the bride adorned, 
Comely in broidery of gold ! behold. 
She comes, apparelled royally, in robes 
Of perfect righteousness, fair as the sun. 
With all her virgins, her companions fair,— 
Into the Palace of the King she comes. 
She comes to dwell for evermore I Awake, 
Eternal harps ! awake, awake, and sing ! — 
The Lord, the Lord, oiir God Almighty, reigns I 

Thus the Messiah, with the hosts of bliss, 
Entered the gates of heaven, unquestioned now, 
Wliich closed behind them, to go out no more ; 
And stood, accepted, in his Father's sight ; 
Before the glorious, everlasting Throne, 
Presenting all his saints ; not one was lost, 
Of all that he in Covenant received. 
And, having given the kingdom up, he sat. 
Where now he sits and reigns, on the right hand 
Qf glory ; and our God is all in all J 
37« 



4(38 THE COURSE OF TIME. 

Thus have I sung beyond thy first request, 
Rolling my numbers o'er the track of man, 
The world at daw-n, at mid-day, and decline ; 
Time gone, the righteous saved, the wicked damzMcl 
And God's eternal government approved. 



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